liWFwFf*fT^^«F 


THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  ILLINOIS 

LIBRARY 

585 
K63558 


£(JCKOWIICS 


Return  this  book  on  or  before  the 
Latest  Date  stamped  below.  A 
charge  is  made  on  all  overdue 
books. 

U.  of  I.  Library 


1  4,\i3y 


1^  T  V  7 ''la 


NOino-38 


'  -J  - 


805  7.S 


MARSHALL  MONROE  KIRKMAN 


AUTHOR  OF 


"The  Science  of  Railways,"  "Primitive  Peoples  and  their  Methods  of  Carriage," 
"The  Romance  of  Gilbert  Holmes,"  "Iskander." 


RAILWAY  EQUIPMENT. 


FORMING  ONE  OF  THE  TWELVE  VOLUMES  OF  THE  REVISED  AND 
ENLARGED  EDITION  OF 

THE  SQENCE  OF  RAILWAYS. 


BY 

MARSHALL  M.  KIRKMAN. 


RAILWAY  EQUIPMENT 

CONTAINS  A  CONCISE  MANUAL  OF  THE  LOCOMOTIVE  AND  ITS  WORKING. 
TREATS  OF  THE  ORIGIN  AND  EVOLUTION  OF  THE  LOCOMOTIVE;  OF 
THE  EQUIPMENT  OF  DIFFERENT  COUNTRIES  ;  OF  THE  MANUFACT- 
URE OF  ENGINES  AND   CARS;    OF  THE  ORGANIZATION  AND 
ARRANGEMENT  OF  THE  SHOPS  AND  ROUND-HOUSES  OF 
RAILWAYS;  OF  THE  AIR  BRAKE  AND  ITS  WORKING; 
OF    THE    ADAPTABILITY  OF   ELECTRICITY   TO 
GENERAL  RAILWAY  PURPOSES  AND  OTHER 
MATTERS  GERMANE  THERETO. 


THE  WHOLE  PROFUSELY  EAABELLISHED  AND  ILLUSTRATED  BY  ENGRAV- 
INGS, PREPARED  EXPRESSLY  FOR  THIS  WORK.    DESCRIPTIVE 
OF  RAILWAY  CARRIAGE  AND  ITS  APPLIANCES. 


VOLUME  I. 


NEW  YORK  AND  CHICAGO: 
THE  WORLD  RAILV/AY  PUBLISHING  COMPANY. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress  of  the  United  States 

in  the  years  1898,  1899,  1900,  1902,  1903  and  1904,  by 

The  World  Railway  Publishing  Company 

in  the  office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington,  D.  C. 

Also  entered  at  Stationer's  Hall,  London,  England- 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 


PAGE 
iNTRODrCTIOX    TO    THE    REVISED    AND    ENIiAEGED    EDITION 

,  OF  "  The  Science  of  Railways,"        7 

■^      Chapter  I.     Evolution  of  the  Locomotive, 15 

3"      Chapter  II.     Description  of  the  Locomotive,     ....     59 

Chapter  III.     The  Locomotives  and   Cars  of  the  World, 
>  and  the  manufacturers  thereof, 116 

S  Chapter  IY.  The  Machinery  Department.  Care  and  main- 
tenance of  locomotives  and  cars.  Arrangement  of  rail- 
road  shops  and  roundhouses, 230 

Chapter  V.     Arrangement  of  Shop  Labor.     Specialization 
of  work.     Comparison  of  cost,  etc., 283 

Chapter  YI.    Construction  and  Operation  of  the  Air-Brake. 

The  brake-shoe.     History  and  evolution  of  the  brake,   .   291 

'  Chapter  YII.  Electricity  as  a  motive  power  for  railways, 
explaining  and  illustrating  its  laws  and  practical  appli- 

^  cation  as  a  motive  power  for  general  transportation 

purposes, 387 

Appendixes: 

Appendix  A. — Evolution  of  the  locomotive,     ....  529 

Appendix  B. — Parts  of  the  locomotive, 530 

Appendix  C. — Cost  of  Electrical  conductors,   ....  533 
Appendix  D. — Explanation  of  a  popular  form  of  auto- 
matic air-brake, 538 


;  (3 


Index, 543 

(iU) 


'  cij 


Revised  and   Enlarged  Edition  of 

"THK  SCIENCK  OK  RAIIvWAYS.' 


PUBLISHERS'    NOTE. 

The  great  and  increasing  demand  for  "The  Science  of  Railways"  due  to 
its  popularity  with  all  classes  of  railway  men,  encouraged  the  author,  after 
seven  editions  had  been  exhausted, to  revise  the  work  and  enrich  it  by  new  and 
important  books  and  treatises  on  various  subjects  connected  with  railways; 
among  others  by 

A  detailed  and  carefully  illustrated  account  of  the  Origin  and  Evolution 
of  the  Locomotive; 

A  portrayal  and  concise  Manual  of  the  Locomotive,  for  the  information 
and  guidance  of  beginners  and  others  interested  in  such  matters; 

A  detailed  treatise  on  the  Compound  Locomotive,  fully  illustrated; 

An  account  of  the  Manufacture  of  Engines  and  Cars; 

An  exposition  of  the  Equipment  of  Different  Countries; 

A  treatise  on  the  Arrangement  of  Railroad  Shops  and  Round-Houses,  and 
the  Care  and  Maintenance  of  Equipment; 

An  exhaustive  and  scientific  account  of  the  Workings  of  the  Air  Brake; 

Treatises  on  Permanent  Track  Signals  and  Interlocking,  as  practiced  on 
American  railroads; 

An  exhaustive  and  scientific  exposition,  copiously  illustrated,  of  the 
Workings  and  Appliances  of  Electricity  and  their  adaptation  to  General 
Railway  Purposes. 

Organization  of  Equipment  Department. 

Engineers'  and  Firemen's  Manual. 

"The  Science  of  Railways"' has  been  further  improved  and  enlarged  by 
new  chapters  on  the  Civil  Service  of  Railways,  Financing,  Fiscal  Affairs, 
Construction,  Operating,  etc.,  etc.,  etc.  Many  other  details  of  interest  and 
importance  conforming  to  present  practices  in  connection  with  the  Creation 
and  Administration  of  Railroads,  have  also  been  added  to  the  work. 

The  illustrations  of  primitive  carriage  scattered  throughout  each  book 
of  the  early  editions  have,  in  this  edition,  been  confined  wholly  to  one 
volume,  and  while  the  number  has  been  reduced  (to  give  place  to  more 
practical  matter)  the  volume  in  question  contains  over  four  hundred  beautiful 
Engravings  illustrative  of  Primitive  Means  of  Transportation  in  every  age  and 
quarter  of  the  globe.  These,  with  the  literary  matter  that  accompanies  them, 
portray  in  the  most  vivid  and  picturesque  manner  possible  the  Primitive 
Peoples  of  the  World,  and  the  successive  steps  by  which  transportation  has 
been  led  up  to  Its  present  high  plane. 

The  binding,  type,  paper,  and  arrangement,  it  is  proper  to  say,  have  also 
been  improved  and  beautified  to  conform  to  the  increased  interest  and  per- 
manency of  the  work.  It  has  been  further  adorned  and  enhanced  in  value 
by  the  additionof  seven  hundred  engravings  (not  embraced  in  the  early  editions) 
descriptive  of  Railway  Appliances.  These  engravings  have  been  prepared 
expressly  for  this  work  by  the  author,  and  ao  expense  has  been  spared  to 
beautify  and  perfect  them. 

Such  are  concisely  some  of  the  Improvements  which  have  been  made  in 
'■•The  Science  of  Railways"  since  the  issuance  of  the  first  seven  editions.The 
original  work  everywhere  met  the  commendation  of  railroad  officers, 
employes  and  owners.  For  this  reason  the  publishers  feel  assured  that  the 
Revised  and  Enlarged  Edition,  retaining  as  it  does  all  that  was  good  in  the 
first  issues,  with  so  much  that  is  new  and  valuable  in  the  enlarged  work,  will 
be  enhanced  in  value  still  further  in  the  estimation  of  those  for  whon?  it  is 
written. 


RAILWAY   EQUIPMENT. 

INTRODUCTION. 

This  volume  forms  a  part  of  "  The  Science 
OP  Railways."  I  embody  it  as  a  part  of  "  The 
Science  of  Railways"  because  I  know  of  no 
good  reason  why  engineers  and  firemen  and 
others  connected  with  the  machinery  depart- 
ment of  railroads  should  not  desire  to  know 
something  about  railroads  generally,  as  well 
as  others  in  the  service.  Certainly,  no  body  of 
men  offers  better  material  to  select  from  in 
choosing  the  officers  of  railroads,  provided  they 
study  the  subject  of  railroading  as  a  whole. 
The  preparation  of  this  volume  occupied  many 
months,  and  during  that  time  the  author  sub- 
mitted it  for  approval  and  revision  to  many  men 
of  eminent  talent  and  great  experience  in  connec- 
tion with  railway  equipment  and  machinery  In- 
deed, throughout  the  preparation  of  the  volume, 
he  actively  sought  the  aid  and  advice  of  experts 
in  such  matters,  so  that  he  might  confidently 
offer  to  the  reader  something  worthy  of  con- 
sideration in  that  connection.  The  engravings 
the    volume    contains    have    been  prepared  ex- 

(V) 


vi  BAIL  WAY  EQUIPMENT. 

pressly  for  it,  and  so  elaborate  and  costly  are 
they  that  it  is  no  exaggeration  to  say  that 
nothing  so  extended  has  ever  before  been  at- 
tempted in  connection  with  any  railway  pub- 
lication of  this  character,  nor  can  more  be 
desired  by  those  studying  the  subject  as  rail- 
road men.  In  view  of  these  facts,  and  because 
of  the  valuable  aid  and  assistance  the  author 
has  received,  he  begs  to  offer  the  volume  to 
railway  men,  and  to  respectfully  dedicate  it 
to  them. 


INTRODUCTION  TO  THE  REVISED  AND 

ENLARGED   EDITION   OF   ''THE 

SCIENCE  OF  RAILWAYS." 

I  do  not  set  out  to  write  an  exhaustive  account 
of  railway  affairs,  but  rather  to  discuss  those 
things  which  every  railroad  man  may  reasonably 
desire  to  form  a  part  of  his  knowledge,  if  not  of 
his  experience.  In  the  early  history  of  railroads 
ignorance  was  general.  This  is  no  longer  the 
3ase.  Railway  men  now  recognize  that  they 
must  not  only  know  thoroughly  the  particular 
work  assigned  them,  but  have  more  than  a  cur- 
sory knowledge  of  the  duties  of  others.  No  man's 
experience  is,  in  itself,  wide  enough  to  command 
this  knowledge,  and  it  is  the  object  of  this  work, 
the  result  of  forty  years'  practical  experience  and 
extended  research,  in  some  measure  to  supply. 

The  ancients  believed  the  world  ended  where 
their  vision  ceased.  Beyond  was  nothing;  a  void, 
simply.  And  so  it  is  with  ignorant  men.  They 
are  insensible  to  the  value  of  knowledge;  to  the 
accumulated  experience  of  mankind.  It  lies 
beyond  their  vision  or  comprehension.  Its  inval- 
uable treasures  are  to  them  as  if  they  were  not. 

(7) 


8  INTRODUCTION. 

Not  only  this,  but  they  resent  knowledge  in  oth- 
ers. In  the  early  history  of  railroads,  books  and 
treatises  on  the  subject  were  angrily  rejected  by 
practical  men,  and  the  writers  thereof  held  up  to 
contumely.  Fitness  was  based  solely  upon  indi- 
vidual experience;  upon  the  kaleidoscopic  views 
of  the  needs  of  railroads  which  began  and  ended 
with  particular  persons.  This  is  no  longer  the 
case.  To-day  knowledge  in  regard  to  railway 
operations  is  sought  wherever  it  can  be  found. 
Men  no  longer  rest  content  with  their  own 
experience.  Books  and  treatises,  which  would  in 
earlier  days  have  been  ridiculed  or  angrily  re- 
sented as  an  impertinence,  no  longer  irritate  the 
egotistical  nor  excite  outward  expression  of  aver- 
sion upon  the  part  of  the  obdurate  and  narrow- 
minded.  Because  of  this  spirit  the  railway  world 
is  ceasing  to  be  a  benighted  region  wherein  men 
grope  about  in  semi-darkness — the  blind  leading 
the  blind.  Its  votaries  are  not  only  enlightened 
and  tolerant,  but  anxious  to  avail  themselves  of 
the  knowledge  and  experience  of  others.  This 
spirit  grows  so  rapidly  that  we  may  confidently 
k^ok  forward  to  the  time  when  it  will  be  every- 
where recognized  as  necessary  that  railway  men 
shall  not  only  possess  personal  experience  and 
skill,  but  also  familiarity  with  the  skill  of  others. 
Then  an  officer  or  emploj-e,  instead  of  being  a 


INTRODUCTION.  "9 

mere  speck  on  the  railway  horizon,  will  be  a 
center  of  light,  familiar  not  only  with  his  own 
department  of  work,  but,  in  a  general  way,  with 
the  whole  railway  world.  Thus  his  mind  will  be 
liberalized  and  his  intelligence  strengthened  and 
deepened. 

Railways  are  still  in  a  state  of  evolution,  and 
continue  to  take  on  each  day  the  complexion  of 
those  who  operate  them.  Every  thing  in  which 
man  is  interested,  like  himself,  advances  or  re- 
cedes. There  is  no  stationary  period.  This  is  true 
of  railroads.  At  this  time  they  are  on  the  up- 
ward plane.  That  which  seems  perfect  to-day  is 
bettered  to-morrow.  So  that  since  the  first  edi- 
tion of  ^'  The  Science  of  Railways  "  was  issued, 
in  1894,  I  have  found  it  necessary  to  re-write 
much  of  it  and  otherwise  add  greatly  to  the 
matter  it  contains.  When  the  work  was  first 
issued  it  did  not  appear  especially  deficient  to 
me  in  any  department,  but  further  investigation, 
more  careful  study  and  greater  experience,  coup- 
led with  the  progress  which  railways  have  made, 
made  it  appear  to  me  very  deficient  in  some 
respects.  Accordingly,  I  took  up  the  subject 
anew. 

Railroads  had  their  origin  in  the  locomotive 
and  the  cars  which  it  hauls,  together  with  the 
machinery  department  organized  for  their  con- 


10  INTRODUCTION. 

struct] on  and  maintenance.  These,  as  a  whole, 
constitute  the  primary  elements  of  the  railroad 
world.  A  great  defect  in  the  early  editions  of 
this  work  was  my  failure  to  give  the  equipment 
and  machinery  departments  the  careful  and  ana- 
lytical consideration  they  merited.  This  defect  I 
now  seek,  and  I  trust,  in  a  measure  successfully, 
to  correct.  In  this  revised  and  enlarged  edition 
several  books,  wholly  new,  are  devoted  entirely 
to  the  discussion  and  portrayal  of  this  phase  of 
the  subject.  They  take  it  up  from  a  standpoint 
which  has  been  little  discussed,  and  so  conscien- 
tiously has  the  matter  been  prepared  and  so  crit- 
ically scanned  by  scientific  and  practical  men 
that  I  am  assured  it  will  command  the  attention 
of  men  of  the  highest  attainments  in  such  mat- 
ters. The  new  books  will,  it  is  hoped,  commend 
themselves  to  the  vast  army  connected  with  the 
machinery  and  equipment  department  of  rail- 
roads. The  books  are  not  exhaustive,  but  prac- 
tical and  discursive.  To  those  connected  with 
other  branches  of  the  service  they  will  be  valu- 
able as  throwing  light  on  a  department  about 
which  it  is  difficult  to  gain  practical  information, 
but  about  which  such  information  is  necessary 
because  of  the  intimate  and  vital  association  of 
the  machinery  department  with  other  depart- 
ments of  the  service.    I  have  striven  to  treat  the 


INTRODUCTION.  U 

subject  in  a  manner  svhich  will  commend  it  to 
railroad  men  as  fully  as  other  portions  of  the 
work  seem,  by  their  testimony,  to  have  met  their 
approval. 

The  new  matter  may  be  partially  summarized 
as  follows:  Evolution  of  the  locomotive;  descrip- 
tion of  the  locomotive;  the  locomotives  and  cars 
of  the  world;  the  manufacture  of  locomotives 
and  cars;  the  machinery  department;  the  care 
and  maintenance  of  locomotives  and  cars;  con- 
struction and  operation  of  the  air-brake;  elec- 
tricity and  its  laws  and  practicable  application 
as  a  motive  power  for  railways;  organization  of 
equipment  department;  manual  of  engineers  and 
firemen.  In  addition  to  these  subjects  now  for 
the  first  time  extensively  treated  in  "The  Science 
OF  Railways,"  many  other  important  and  vital 
additions  have  been  made  to  the  work. 

Wherever  practices  as  portrayed  in  the  first 
edition  have  been  modified  by  subsequent 
changes,  or  the  description  has  been  found  defic- 
ient, it  has  been  my  aim  as  new  editions  of  the 
work  have  been  issued  to  supply  the  deficiency. 
Among  important  subjects  that  have  been  elab- 
orated in  the  new  editions,  not  enumerated  above, 
the  following  may  be  mentioned:  Opportunities 
and  requirements  of  the  civil  service  of  railroads; 
train  service;  details  of  track:  car  wheels;  light- 


12  INTRODUCTION. 

ing  cars;  heating  cars;  fiscal  affairs,  financing, 
etc.  In  every  instance  where  improved  practices 
or  more  careful  study  have  suggested  changes, 
they  have  been  made. 

The  illustrations  and  chapters  on  Primitive 
Carriers,  which  were  scattered  through  the  work 
in  the  first  six  editions,  have  been  concentrated 
in  one  volume.  They  may  thus  be  quickly  and 
easily  scanned  without  in  any  way  interrupting 
the  more  serious  theme  of  the  work.  The  pictures 
of  primitive  carriers,  while  reduced  in  number,' 
are  still  of  surpassing  beauty  and  attractiveness, 
and  sufiicient  in  number  and  careful  selection  to 
be  thoroughly  representative  of  primitive  carriage 
in  every  age  and  part  of  the  world.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  literary  account  of  primitive  people,  as 
associated  with  primitive  carriers,  both  of  our 
age  and  of  the  ages  which  have  preceded  it,  has 
been  greatly  added  to  in  interest  in  the  enlarged 
edition. 

While  the  engravings  representing  primitive 
forms  of  carriage  have  been  restricted  to  such  as 
are  valuable  from  an  artistic  and  practical  point 
of  view  as  illustrating  the  forms  of  carriage  that 
lead  up  to  railway  transportation,  the  author  has 
added  seven  hundred  engravings  representing  the 
highest  known  forms  of  transportation.  The 
value  of  these  to  railway  men  can  not  be  over- 


INTRODUCTION.  13 

estimated,  as  with  the  text  accompanying  they 
form  a  panorama  of  the  physical  machinery  of 
railroads  of  the  greatest  practical  value  and 
interest. 

And  in  this  connection  it  is  proper  to  say  that, 
while  I  make  much  of  the  new  matter  in  the 
revised  and  enlarged  edition,  I  do  not  wish  to 
imply  that  I  consider  it  more  important  than 
other  and  older  portions  of  the  work.  I  am  led, 
however,  to  refer  particularly  to  the  new  matter 
because  it  is  here  that  the  work  has,  by  some, 
been  claimed  to  be  deficient.  I  have  never  heard 
similar  criticism  of  it  in  regard  to  other  depart- 
ments of  the  service  of  which  it  treats.  The  new 
matter  simply  rounds  out  w^hat  was  before  lack- 
ing, and  makes  the  work,  as  a  whole,  more  nearly 
conform  to  what  I  desire  it  to  be;  namely,  an 
exposition  of  the  science  of  railways. 


CHAPTER  I. 

EVOLUTION   OF    THE    LOCOMOTIVE. 

"HE  genius  of  the  railway  system  lies 
in  the  locomotive;  hence  I  make  it 
the  theme  of  my  opening  chapter. 
The  pulsations  of  its  heart  carry  to 
and  fro  the  commerce  and  travel  of 
the  world,  just  as  the  action  of  the 
human  heart  sends  the  blood  coursing  back  and 
forth  through  the  body.  It  is  for  the  moment 
the  consummation  of  man's  highest  achievements 
and  desires  in  this  direction.  His  labors  and 
speculations  on  the  subject  antedate  our  time  by 
many  hundreds  of  years,  but  not  until  the  nine- 
teenth century  did  his  inventive  genius  sift  from 
the  myths  of  speculative  fancy  something  he 
could  control  and  direct  at  will;  something  in- 
sensible to  labor  and  pain,  and  that  could  be 
made  to  carry  the  burdens  before  borne  by  him 
or  his  willing  agents — the  animals. 

A  history  of  the  locomotive,  however  brief  or 
imperfect,  like  all  histories,  is  more  valuable  for 
the  suggestion  it  affords  thoughtful  men  than  for 
the  mere  power  to  satisfy  the  curiosity  of  the 
multitude. 

So  many  functions  have  grown  up  about  the 
operation  of  railways,  we  constantly  forget  that 

05) 


16  RAILWAY  EQUIPMENT. 

the  spark  of  life  lies  in  the  locomotive;  that  its 
fire  warms  the  blood  and  is  the  cause  of  all  the 
animation  we  see  about  us.  The  theme  is  one 
to  excite  admiration,  and  can  not  be  considered 
mechanically.  The  conception,  purposes  and 
achievements  of  the  locomotive  must,  each  in  its 
turn,  be  familiar  to  the  engineer  in  order  that 
his  sympathies  may  be  excited  and  his  genius 
inspired.  Without  such  inspiration  how  can 
he  fully  fathom  its  mysteries,  comprehend  its 
possibilities  or  aid  in  achieving  its  great  future? 
To  understand  its  mechanism  or  fathom  its 
future  he  must  have  traced  its  growth.  In  order 
to  go  forward  he  must  first  be  imbued  with 
the  inspiration  of  what  has  already  been  done. 
It  is  never  enough  in  a  world  so  great  as  that 
of  railways,  that  men  should  comprehend  only 
the  mechanical  thing;  they  must  also  under- 
stand its  philosophy.  It  is  for  this  reason  that 
in  describing  the  locomotive  I  preface  what  I 
have  to  say  by  an  account  of  its  origin  and 
growth. 

The  discovery  of  the  locomotive  is,  as  a  whole, 
the  greatest  achievement  of  man  in  the  art  of 
carriage.  He  speculated  for  many  centuries  on 
the  utility  of  steam,  but  it  remained  for  Trevi- 
thick,  of  our  day,  to  demonstrate  its  ability  to 
haul  a  load  across  the  country  and  perform  other 
acts  of  drudgery  that  before  seemed  incredible. 
With  its  introduction  the  horse  and  the  ox 
henceforth  became  local  incidents  of  carriage 
merely,  and  no  longer  factors. 


EVOLUTION  OF  LOCOMOTIVE. 


17 


Who  first  discovered  the  possible  value  of 
steam  we  are  not  informed,  but  we  know  that 
as  far  back  as  one  hundred  years  before  the 
Christian  era  a  more  or  less  ingenious  machine, 
operated  by  steam,  had  been  constructed  at  Alex- 
andria, Egypt,  by  Hero.  It  is  clear  that  he  under- 
stood the  expansive  power  of  steam  and  its 
possible  utility.  The  advanced  position  he  took, 
and  the  treatise  he  wrote  on  the  subject,  suggest 


Newton's  Experimental  Engine,    1G80. 

that  many  experiments  and  cogitations  of  others, 
before  his  time,  found  expression  in  him.  Dis- 
coveries of  this  kind  do  not  spring  full-fledged 
into  existence,  but  are  created  little  by  little,  and 
thus  nurtured  and  grow. 

Nothing  of  a  useful  nature  grew  out  of  Hero's 
speculations,  and  it  was  not  until  the  seventeenth 
century  that  the  practical  value  of  steam  for  pur- 
poses of  carriage  assumed  tangible  form.  In  1680 
Newton  sought  to  invent  a  machine  by  which 

2    Vol.  1 


18 


KAIL  WA  y   EQ  UIPMEXT. 


the  reactionary  force  of  steam  upon  the  air 
would  propel  the  vehicle  forward.  His  experi- 
ments, however,  were  not  satisfactory.  En  1769 
Cugnot,  an  officer  of  the  French  army,  invented  a 
steam-propelled  vehicle  with  three  wheels.  The 
front  supported  a  frame  which  carried  a  steam 
boiler  and  other  appliances.  The  machine  was 
steered  by  a  lever  from  the  platform.  The  driv- 
ing wheel  was  of  wood;  it  was  tired  with  iron, 
and  about  four  feet  in  diameter.  Cugnot  is  said 
to  have  been  the  first  to  apply  the  high  pressure 


Cugnot's  Steam  Carriage.    1769. 

or  non-condensing  engine  with  cylinders  and  pis- 
ton to  the  production  of  rotary  power,  as  well  as 
to  utilize  steam  for  purposes  of  land  locomotion. 
The  limited  size  of  the  boiler  of  his  engine,  coup- 
led with  other  defects,  rendered  its  use  imprac- 
ticable. The  first  attempt  to  utilize  steam  for 
propelling  carriages  in  America  was  made  by 
Nathan  Kead  of  Salem,  Massachusetts,  in  1794. 
He  is  credited  with  having  constructed  the  first 
multitubular  boiler.  The  tubes  were  placed  ver- 
tically. The  forward  wheels  of  the  machine  were 
placed  on  a  swiveling  axle,  operated  by  a  hand 


EVOLUTIOX  OF  LOCOMOTIVE. 


19 


wheel  attached  to  a  large  sheave  over  which  a 
rope  was  placed,  the  ends  being  attached  to  the 
axles.  His  engine  was  designed  to  travel  only  in 
one  direction. 

With  the  needs  of  the  commercial  world  came 
the  perfected  locomotive.  Forms  of  government 
had  become  fixed  and,  with  them,  the  internal 
commerce  of  the  world  was  rendered  measurably 
secure.    Trevithick's  discoveries  made  the  loco- 


First  Multitubular  Boiier,  Read's  Steam  Carriage.   1791. 

motive  practicable,  but  it  was  not  until  twenty- 
seven  years  afterward  that  the  attention  of  the 
world  was  attracted  to  it  and  its  possible  future 
usefulness.  It  resulted  from  this  neglect  that 
when  the  subject  was  finally  brought  forward 
the  person  who  happened  to  be  immediately  con- 
nected with  the  awakening  was  singled  out  as 
the  central  figure  and  hero  of  the  event.  And  it 
follows  from  this  chance  association  that  George 
Stephenson  will  for  all  time  be  generally  believed 


20 


RAILWAY  EQUIPMENT. 


to  have  been  the  inventor  of  the  locomotive  and, 
therefore,  the  father  of  the  railway  system,  in- 
stead of  Trevithick. 

From  the  accounts  which  have  come  down  to 
us,  it  appears  that  in  1803  (twenty-seven  years 
before  Stephenson  opened  the  Liverpool  and 
Manchester  railway  with  its  procession  of 
engines)  Trevithick  constructed  a  steam  loco- 
motive designed  to  run  on  a  cast  iron  tramway. 
He  was  a  man  of  much  practical  experience  and 
singularly  receptive  intelligence.    He  conceived 


First  railway  train  in  the  world.  Trevithick's  engine.  1803.  The  driving 
wheels  are  operated  by  cogwheels,  directly  connected  thereto.  The  rails  were 
smooth,  as  were  also  the  tires  of  the  wheels. 

what  had  before  been  disputed,  namely,  that  a 
smooth  wheel  acting  on  a  smooth  rail  had  the 
necessary  adhesion  to  draw  a  load  proportionate 
to  the  weight  placed  on  the  wheels  and  the 
power  of  the  machine.  This  weight  the  attend- 
ant boiler  with  its  load  was  intended  to  supply. 
In  constructing  his  locomotive,  the  steam  from 
the  cylinder  was  made  to  escape  through  the 
chimney.  This  happy  conception,  whether  its 
results  were  anticipated  or  not,  created  a  strong 
draught,  and  it  followed  therefrom  that  one 
great  object,  namely,  a  good  fire  with  which  to 


EVOLUTION  OF  LOCOMOTIVE. 


21 


create  steam,  had  at  last  been  achieyed.  This 
simple  expedient  solved,  in  a  measure,  the  prac- 
ticability of  the  use  of  steam  for  purposes  of  land 
carriage. 

Trevithick  employed  high  pressure  steam.* 
His  locomotive  contained  every  essential  feature 
of  the  present  machine,  but  was,  upon  trial, 
unfortunately,  found  to  be  more  expensive  to 
operate  than  horse  power,  and  thus  not  a  com- 
mercial success.  This  defect,  fatal  from  a  prac- 
tical point  of  view,  seems  to  have  chilled  his 
ardor,  otherwise  we  should  have  expected  him  to 
continue  his  experiment  until  this  obstacle,  a 
matter  of  detail  merely,  should  have  been  over- 
come. Nothing  further 
appears  of  a  practical 
nature  in  connection 
with  the  locomotive  un- 
til the  advent  of  John 
Blenkinsop,  in  1811, 
when  he  put  Matthew 
Murray  to  work  to  con- 
struct a  locomotive  that 
would  haul  coal  over 
his  railroad,  or  tram- 
way, between  Middle- 
ton  and  Leeds,  three 
and  a  half  miles.    In  consequence  of  the  severe 


Blenkinsop's  Rack  Rail  Locomotive, 

1811.    The  wheel  and  rail  were 

notched  as  shown. 


*  In  this  connection  it  is  proper  to  say  tliat  high  pressure 
steam  is  the  only  form  used  in  connection  with  the  locomotive, 
save  in  the  case  of  compound  engines,  in  which  case  the  use  of 
the  steam  the  second  time  may  be  termed  low-pressure. 


22 


RAILWAY  EQUIPMENT. 


gradients  on  the  line,  a  notched  or  rack  rail  and 
a  cog  wheel  were  used.  A  trial  of  this  machine 
was  made  in  August,  1812,  and,  having  been 
found  to  be  an  economical  as  well  as  a  mechan- 
ical success,  it  was  continued  in  operation. 

During  this  interesting  period  many  other 
experiments  were  being  carried  on,  but,  while 
they  afforded  much  valuable  information,  were 
not  in  the  main  successful.  In  1812  the 
locomotive   known   as  the  ^'Puffing  Billy"  was 


"Puffing  Billy."  1813  The  so-called  railsonwhichtheenginestands.it 
will  be  noticed,  are  little  more  than  plates,  and  it  is  from  this  fact  that  the 
trackmen  of  England  are  to-day  still  called  plate-lavers.  This  picture  is  an 
original,  taken  from  the  locomotive  now  at  the  Field  Columbian  Museum, 
Chicago.  Many  of  the  other  illustrations  in  this  volume  are  similarly  takey 
from  originals,  or  models  thereof.  All  are  perfect  representations  of  the 
things  they  depict. 


EVOLUTION  OF  LOCOMOTIVE.  23 

constructed  bj^  a  Mr.  Blackett,  proprietor  of  the 
Wylam  Colliery.  William  Hedley,  one  of  his 
employes,  assisted  him.  They  used  a  smooth 
rail  and  wheel,  demonstrated  by  Trevithick  to 
be  practicable.  Blackett's  locomotive,  however, 
when  put  in  operation  in  February,  1813,  was 
found  not  to  be  entirely  successful  because  of 
the  'difficulty  of  making  steam.  Afterward, 
however,  in  May,  1813,  when  rebuilt  and  the 
exhaust  had  been  carried  into  the  smoke  stack, 
as  devised  by  Trevithick,  the  difficulty  was  found 
to  be  overcome,  and  the  locomotive  proved  to  be 
a  perfect  success;  financially  and  mechanically, 
and  was  continued  in  operation  for  many  years. 
Blackett's  locomotive  was  called  "Puffing  Billy," 
because  "of  the  noise  made  by  the  two  pipes 
which  carried  the  steam  from  the  cylinders  into 
the  smoke-stack.  The  noise  occasioned  by  this 
locomotive  and  the  cars  it  hauled  greatly  dis- 
turbed the  quiet  folks  who  dwelt  in  the  neighbor- 
hood; indeed,  they  went  so  far  as  to  claim  that 
it  vitiated  the  lease  of  the  land  to  the  railroad 
company.  However,  eventually,  "Puffing  Billy" 
ceased  to  scare  the  cattle  and  distract  the  minds 
of  the  people  on  the  line  and  so  the  railroad  was 
allowed  to  stay. 

During  the  same  year  a  second  locomotive  was 
built  by  Blackett  for  use  on  his  line.  In  con- 
structing his  machines,  however,  due  regard  was 
not  paid  to  the  weight  of  the  rail  on  which  they 
were  to  run,  and  so  it  was  found  necessary  to 
substitute  for  the  four  rigid  wheels  on  which 


24  RAILWAY  EQUIPMENT. 

the  machines  were  operated,  two  four-wheeled 
bogies.*  This  secured  a  more  equitable  division 
of  the  weight,  while  also  permitting  the  machine 
to  run  around  the  sharp  curves  on  the  line. 
Afterward,  when  the  road  had  been  relaid  with 
heavier  rails,  the  four-wheeled  bogies  were  re- 
moved and  the  engine  again  placed  on  four  fixed 
wheels  as  in  the  first  instance. 


Middleton  &  Leeds  Railway.    1812-13.    Thirty  cars  were  hauled  in  a  train. 

Up  to  this  point  in  the  introduction  of  the 
locomotive,  George  Stephenson,  who  afterward 
deservedly  became  so  prominent,  had  not  ap- 
peared prominently  as  an  inventor  or  con- 
structor.    His    attention,    however,    had    been 

*  I  use  the  term  ''bogie"  in  reference  to  tlie  Englisli  custom 
rather  than  that  of  America.  In  England  a  four-wheeled  truck 
with  the  bogie  principle  is  called  a  bogie,  but  in  the  United 
States  only  two  wheels  are  recognized  as  coming  under  this 
head.  The  English  were  slow  to  utilize  or  introduce  the  two- 
wheeled  bogie.  From  time  immemorial  the  rigid  wheel-base 
was  the  fashion  in  that  country.  This  prevented  the  sharp 
curves  which  are  so  common  in  America  and  which  so  gTeatly 
lessen  the  cost  of  railways.  The  railways  in  Great  Britain 
have  been  constructed  with  a  view  to  the  avoidance  of  such 
curves,  while  the  financial  necessities  of  the  American  roads 
rendered  them  necessary.  Because  of  this  the  bogie  did  not 
in  England  possess  the  value  it  did  in  America.  That  the 
English  erred  in  this  we  may  confidently  believe  from  the  fact 
that  the  bogie  ultimately  found  favor  on  the  English  roads. 


EVOLUTION  OF  LOCOMOTIVE. 


25 


early  attracted  to  the  subject  in  connection  with 
his  patron,  Lord  Ravensworth.  His  investiga- 
tions and  reflections  first  bore  fruit  in  the  locomo- 
tive successfully  con- 
structed under  his  di- 
rection and  tried  in 
July,  1814,  called  the 
''Blucher." 

His  engine  was  thus 
fourth  in  order  of  suc- 
cession, or  third  in  or- 
der of  those  proven  to 
be  commercially  and 
mechanically  a  suc- 

Qggg  Robert  Stephenson's  First  Locomotive. 

n'        ,  1  "Blucher,"  1814. 

btephenson,  how- 
ever, did  more,  it  is  probable,  to  perfect  the 
locomotive  than  anyone  of  his  time.  His  mind 
was  peculiarly  open  to  impressions  and  quick  to 
assimilate  the  ideas  of  others.  He,  moreover, 
possessed  those  qualities  which  enabled  him  to 
impress  others  with  the  practicability  and  value 
of  his  conceptions.  He  was  not  only  a  mechan- 
ical engineer,  but  a  man  of  talent  and  affairs  in 
other  directions.  He  possessed  a  mind  capable 
of  considering  intelligently  and  conservatively 
any  problem  brought  to  his  attention,  whether 
it  were  a  financial  project,  a  business  detail  or  a 
mechanical  idea.  It  resulted  from  this  and  the 
study  he  had  given  the  subject,  and  the  promi- 
nence he  had  attained  meanwhile,  that  when  in 
1818  the  owners  of  the  Stockton  and  Darlington 


26 


RAIL  WA  V  EQ  UIPMENT, 


determined  to  construct  a  public  railway,  they 
employed  him  as  their  engineer;  but,  owing  to 
obstacles  in  Parliament  and  elsewhere,  the  road 
was  not  opened  for  business  until  the  twenty- 
seventh  of  December,  1825.  The  locomotive  used 
on  that  occasion  was  designed  by  Stephenson  and 
was  known  as  ''  Locomotion."  From  the  fact 
that  this  engine  continued  in  successful  opera- 
tion until  1841,  it  is  apparent  that  it  embodied 
within  itself  substantially  all  the  essential  fea- 
tures afterward  proven  to  be  necessary  to  safety 
and  economy  of  operation. 


The  first  railway  locomotive  with  multitubular  boiler.    Seguin's.    1828. 


In  1827  Seguin,  of  France,  is  said  to  have  con- 
verted a  Stephenson  engine  into  the  first  railway 
locomotive  with  a  multitubular  boiler.  Pre- 
viously the  locomotive  boiler  had  been  a  cylin- 
drical shell  with  one  tube  placed  lengthwise, 
with  the  exception  of  the  one  constructed  by 
Read  in  1791,  referred  to.  Seguin  proved  that 
the  evaporating  power  of  an  engine  was  greatly 
increased  by  the  multitubular  principle,  and  to 


EVOLUTION  OF  LOCOMOTIVE. 


27 


him  is  largely  due  the  rapid  development  of  the 
locomotive  in  this  direction. 

In  1830  the  Stockton  and  Darlington  had  eleven 
locomotives  in  successful  operation.  Of  these, 
eight  were  designed  by  Stephenson  and  three  by 
Timothy  Hackworth.  The  latter  afterward  be- 
came engine  superintendent  of  the  line.    As  an 


"Tom  Thumb."    1829.     Built  by  Peter  Cooper.    The  first  engine  to  draw  a  car 
on  the  American  continent. 

indication  of  the  power  of  the  locomotive  at  this 
period,  one  owned  by  the  Stockton  and  Darling- 
ton road  had  six  coupled  wheels  and  could  draw 
thirty -two  cars,  or  one  hundred  and  thirty  tons,  of 
coal  on  a  level  at  the  rate  of  five  miles  per  hour. 
The  cylinders  were  eleven  inches  in  diameter, 
and  had  a  stroke  of  twenty  inches.  The  driving 
wheels  had  a  diameter  of  four  feet. 


28 


RAILWAY  EQUIPMENT 


The  people  of  the  United  States  having  heard 
of  the  successful  operation  of  the  locomotive  in 
England,  the  Delaware  &  Hudson  Canal  Com- 
pany, in  1828,  sent  its  agent  to  England  to  buy 
rails  and  contract  for  four  locomotives.  This 
was  the  inaugural  effort  of  railway  operations  in 
America.  Of  the  four  locomotives,  the  "America" 
arrived  in  New  York  in  January,  1829,  and  was 
the  first  machine  of  its  kind  in  the  United  States. 

Among  the  other  engines 
covered  by  the  order  was 
the  "Stourbridge  Lion," 
which  reached  America  in 
May,  1829.  This  was  the 
first  locomotive  put  in  oper- 
ation in  the  United  States. 
The  event  occurred  on  the 
9th  of  August,  1829.  Horatio 
Allen  was  the  engineer. 

Other  locomotives  were 
constructed  and  placed  in 
successful  operation  in  England  during  the  period 
I  have  named;  thus,  one  (in  1829)  for  the  Shutt 
End  Railway,  at  Kingswinford. 

It  was  at  this  time — September  15th,  1830 — 
that  the  event  wliich  so  impressed  the  world 
occurred,  namely,  the  opening  of  the  Liverpool 
&  Manchester  Railway.  So  late  as  1829  the  own- 
ers of  that  property  were  still  in  doubt  as  to 
whether  to  use  liorses,  or  locomotives,  or  station- 
ary engines  with  endless  chains.  To  solve  their 
doubts  they  determined  to  have  a  competitive 


The  "  Stourbridge  Lion."  1829. 
Delaware  A  Hudson  Canal  Rail- 
road. 


EVOLUTION  OF  LOCOMOTIVE. 


29 


trial  of  locomotives.  It  occurred  near  Manches- 
ter in  the  latter  part  of  the  year  1829.  The 
reward  was  twenty-five  hundred  dollars  for  the 
locomotive  which  should  prove  to  be  the  most 
successful.  Three  machines  competed,  among 
them  Stephenson's  "Rocket,"  which  deservedly 
received  the  preference.  These  experiments  con- 
vinced those  interested  of  the  value  of  the  loco- 


Stephenson's  " Rocket."    1830.    This  engine  hauled  the  first  train  at  the  open- 
ing of  the  Liverpool  &  Manchester  Railway. 


motive,  and  they  accordingly  gave  Stephenson 
orders  for  seven  other  machines,  all  of  which 
took  part  in  the  great  procession  that  attended 
the  opening  of  the  Liverpool  &  Manchester  road, 
on  the  15th  of  September,  1830.  The  "North- 
umbrian," which  had  a^  speed  of  thirty-six  miles 
an  hour,  headed  the  procession  as  being  in  all 
respects  the  best  of  its  type. 


30  RAILWAY   EQUIPMENT. 

George  Stephenson  and  his  son  Robert  attained 
great  influence  in  connection  with  railway  sub- 
jects because  of  their  ingenuity  and  talents.  They 
are  said  to  have  improved  the  steam  blast,  which 
enabled  the  "  Rocket "  to  make  sufficient  steam 
to  haul  a  passenger  train  at  the  rate  of  thirty- 
five  miles  an  hour."^'  The  wheels  of  this  locomo- 
tive had  little  side  play  and  on  this  account  it 
was  necessary  that  the  track  should  not  vary 
greatly  from  a  straight  line.  This  necessity 
added  greatly  to  the  cost  of  the  road.  Other 
European  countries  copied  from  the  English,  and 
the  Stephenson  type  of  locomotive  became  the 
standard  for  many  years.  The  American  form 
of  locomotive  was  much  superior  to  those  used 
abroad,  in  this  that  it  saved  in  cost  of  road. 
Indeed,  as  I  have  pointed  out  elsewhere,  the  peo- 
ple of  the  United  States  did  not  have  money  to 
build  the  expensive  roads  adopted  abroad,  and  had 
they  been  unable  to  operate  their  cheap  roads 
because  of  inability  to  invent  anything  more 
adaptable  than  the  Stephenson  locomotive,  rail- 
way construction  in  this  country  would  have 
been  very  light. 

About  the  time  of  which  I  have  been  writing 
Stephenson  constructed  the  locomotive  known  as 
the  ''Planet,"  which  became,  in  a  measure,  the 
standard  for  that  period.  It  had  inside  cylinders, 
placed  under  the  smoke-stack  in  front  of  the 
machine.    In  1831  the  necessities  of  the  freight 

*  This  speed  is  stated  by  Stretton  not  to  have  exceeded 
twenty-nine  miles  an  hour.     Authorities  differ. 


EVOLLTIOX  OF  LOCOMOTIVE.  31 

traffic  of  the  Liverpool  &  Manchester  Eailway 
requiring  locomotives  with  greater  power,  the 
''Samson'^  and  "Goliath^'  were  constructed  to 
meet  this  requirement.  The  machines  weighed 
ten  tons  and  had  cj^linders  fourteen  by  sixteen 
inches.  The  driving  wheels  were  four  feet  and  six 
inches  in  diameter.*  This  was  justly  esteemed  a 
great  advance  over  anything  previously  construc- 
ted. It  is  recounted  of  the  "  Samson "  as  a  re- 
markable evidence  of  its  strength,  that  it  was 
able  to  convey  a  freight  train  of  one  hundred  and 
sixty-four  tons  between  Manchester  and  Liver- 
pool at  the  rate  of  twenty  miles  an  hour.  And  in 
this  connection  it  must  not  be  forgotten  that 
freight  trains  in  Great  Britain  do  not  riin  at  the 
slow  rate  of  speed  they  do  in  America.  The 
freight  or  goods  car  of  Great  Britain  is  light  and 
the  load  to  correspond.  They  are  hauled  across 
the  country  at  a  rate  which  American  managers 
have  only  permitted  for  passenger  trains. 

With  the  opening  of  the  Liverpool  &  Manches- 
ter the  railway  system  of  the  world  was  formally 
inaugurated.  However,  George  Stephenson  con- 
tinued to  be  much  sought  after  in  opening  new 
roads;  as,  for  instance,  the  Glasgow  &  Garnkirk 
Railway,  in  1831.     The  engines  used  at  that  time 

*  Tliese  engines  had  originally  four  driving  wheels,  but  the 
oscillation  when  in  motion  necessitated  the  addition  of  two 
small  trailing  wheels  back  of  the  fire-box.  Thus  the  first  inside 
cylinder  freight  engine  upon  six  wheels  was  constructed. 
Later,  in  1834,  the  ''Atlas  "  was  built  with  six  coupled  driving 
Avheels  and  cylinders  sixteen  by  twenty  inches,  and  became  the 
first  machine  of  this  description  with  inside  cj^linders. 


32 


RAILWAY  EQUIPMENT. 


had  cylinders  eleven  by  sixteen  inches,  with  driv- 
ing w^heels  four  feet  and  six  inches  in  diameter. 

It  v^^as  at  this  period — on  the  4th  of  January, 
1831 — that  the  owners  of  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio 
Kailroad  offered  a  reward  of  four  thousand  dollars 
to  the  manufacturer  of  the  best  American-built 
locomotive  of  three  and  one-half  tons  weight, 
capable  of  drawing  fifteen  tons  at  fifteen  miles 
an  hour  on  a  dead  level.  It  was  stipulated,  more- 
over, that  it  should  burn  anthracite   coal,  and 

have  four  wheels  coup- 
led together.  The  pre- 
mium  was  finally 
awarded  to  Davis  & 
Gr  a r t n  e  r ,  man  uf actur- 
ers,  of  Pennsylvania.* 
This  firm  first  con- 
structed what  was 
^  known  as  the  '^grass- 
hopper" pattern  of  loco- 
motive  some  of  which 

The  "York."    1831.    The  winner  of    WCre  lu  USC  OU   the  Bal- 
the   Baltimore  Sc   Ohio  prize   of  four     j  •  n    r\-\    •       "r>     *!  J 

thousand  doihirs.  timorc  &  Ohio  Kailroad 

*  The  locomotive  they  constructed  was  known  as  the  "  York." 
Quite  a  number  of  manufacturers  were  meanwhile  actively  get- 
ting into  position  to  meet  the  wants  of  the  community  in  this 
new  direction.  It  was  with  this  thought  that  the  Baldwin 
works  were  started,  in  1832.  Many  manufactories  in  Great 
Britain,  among  others  Stephenson  &  Company;  Fenton,  Mur- 
ray &  Company;  E.  Bury  Sc  Company;  Galloway  &  Company; 
Sharp,  Eoberts  &  Company;  Tayleur  &  Company;  and  Forrester 
&  Company,  destined  to  exert  a  most  marked  influence  on  the 
construction  and  value  of  the  locomotive,  had  already  been 
started. 


EVOLUTION  OF  LOCOMOTIVE. 


33 


as  late  as  1863.  It  is  noted  of  the  "Comet/'  built 
at  this  time,  that  its  smoke-stack  was  thirteen 
feet  in  height.  It  was  about  this  time  in  railway 
construction  that  there  sprung  up  the  question  of 
the  relative  value  of  four  and  six-wheeled  drivers. 
The  advocates  of  each  claimed  superior  qualities 
for  their  machine.  For  many  years  those  who 
advocated  the  four-wheeled  disputed  the  useful- 
ness of  the  other,  but  ultimately  the  great  value 
of  the  six-wheeled  locomotive  for  particular  uses 
was  demonstrated  beyond  controversy. 


^iit" :  ■"  ■;■■ 


"^^  yj^'^^^ga^^^^^^^^ 


Train  on  Charleston  &  Hamburgh  Railroad,  South  Carolina.  The  locomo- 
tive was  called  "Best  Friend."  It  was  built  iu  1830,  and  soon  after  exploded 
through  neglect  of  the  fireman.    When  re-built  it  was  called  the  "Phoenix." 

If  the  public  were  slow  to  appreciate  the  value 
of  the  locomotive  for  commercial  purposes  prior 
to  the  opening  of  the  Liverpool  &  Manchester 
railway,  it  was  fitfully  alive  after  that  period. 
Indeed,  from  being  coldly  indifferent  it  became 
over  zealous;  from  being  loth  to  invest  at  all,  it 
became  insanely  anxious  to  place  its  money  at 
any  risk.  It  thus  came  about  that  promoters 
had  no  difficulty  in  finding  means  to  further  their 
enterprises,  no  matter  how  wild  or  visionary 
they  were.     Little  attention  was  given  to  the 

S    Vol.  I 


34 


RA IL  ^yA  Y  EQ  UIPMENT. 


probable  dividend-paying  capacitj^  of  the  ven- 
ture, but  everything  offered  was  quickly  taken. 
The  result  was  as  miglit  have  been  expected,  a 
great  financial  crash,  which  for  the  moment  par- 
alyzed ventures  of  all  kinds,  good  and  bad.  After- 
ward, when  confidence  w^as  restored,  progress  was 
carried  on  along  more  conservative  lines.  Spec- 
ulation during  the  period  referred  to  was  not 
confined  to  railways,  but  characterized,  more  or 
less,  everything  that  affected  these  properties,  or 
that  was  used  in  connection  w4th  them.     Thus 


First  Truck  Engine,  "Brother  Jonathan."  Mohawk  &  Hudson  Railroad.   1832. 

manufacturers  of  locomotives  sprung  up  out  of 
all  proportion  to  the  needs  of  the  time.  How- 
ever, the  hardship  which  befell  these  ventures 
was  not  so  disastrous  nor  far-reaching  as  in  the 
case  of  railroads,  where  thousands  of  people  lost 
all  they  had. 

At  first  every  question  which  arose  in  con- 
nection with  the  operation  of  railroads  w^as  nec- 
essarily open  to  discussion.  Nothing  had  been 
demonstrated,  and  in  the  haste  and  confusion  of 
the  moment  the  most  visionary  projects  found 
advocates  or  acquiescent  followers.    This  w^as  the 


EVOLUTIOX  OF  LOCOMOTIVE.  35 

case  with  questions  regarding  the  most  practicable 
gauge  for  locomotives  and,  therefore,  for  railroads. 
At  first  the  gauge  in  England  was  uniformly  four 
feet,  eight  and  one-half  inches,  following  that  of 
the  colliery  tramways.  In  Scotland  there  were 
a  few  with  a  gauge  of  four  feet  six.  However, 
when  the  Great  Western  Railway  was  built, 
Brunei,  its  eminent  engineer,  determined  to  adopt 
a  gauge  of  seven  feet,  and  invited  the  construc- 
tion of  locomotives  on  that  basis.  Parliament 
having  permitted  this  gauge,  many  other  vari- 
ations occurred  in  quick  succession  until  every 
variety  of  theory  had  been  exhausted.  One  broad 
gauge  locomotive  of  the  Great  Western  had  a 
driving  wheel  ten  feet  in  diameter — the  largest 
ever  known. 

At  first  it  was  maintained  that  the  broad  gauge 
locomotive  w^as  capable  of  greater  speed  and 
uniformity  of  operation  than  any  other.  This 
view  remained  uncontroverted  until  it  was  dem- 
onstrated that  the  four  feet,  eight  and  one-half 
inch  locomotive  was  capable  of  even  greater 
speed  than  the  broad  gauge  engine,  while  in  all 
other  respects  it  was  fully  up  to  the  broad  gauge 
machine  in  convenience  and  serviceability.  In 
1846  a  broad  gauge  engine  of  tlie  Great  Western 
Railway  attained  a  speed  of  seventy-eight  miles. 
In  1847  a  standard  engine  of  the  London  and 
Northwestern  Railway  made  seventy-nine  miles 
per  hour.  When  we  remember  that  our  own 
period  is  thought  to  be  peculiarly  noted  for  the 
speed  of  its  locomotives,  the  performances  made 


36  RAILWAY  EQUIPMENT. 

in  184G  and  1847  must  incline  us  to  be  more  appre- 
ciative of  early  railway  builders.*  The  driving 
wheels  of  the  London  and  Northwestern  engine 
were  eight  feet  six — the  largest  ever  put  under  a 
standard  machine.  Those  of  its  rival,  the  Great 
Western,  were  eight  feet  in  diameter.  The  cyl- 
inders of  the  latter  were  eighteen  by  twenty-four. 
It  was  said  to  evaporate  three  hundred  cubic  feet 
of  water  per  hour  and  the  minimum  fuel  it  con- 
sumed was  two  and  one-half  pounds  per  horse 
power  per  hour. 

When  it  was  demonstrated  that  the  loco- 
motives of  the  narrow  gauge  of  the  London  and 
Northwestern  Railway  could  make  as  good  or 
even  better  time  than  those  of  the  Great  West- 
ern, both  the  public  and  the  owners  of  the  rail- 
ways were  inclined  to  favor  the  former  and  to 
insist  upon  its  being  made  the  standard.  This, 
because  the  conveniences  of  traffic  required  uni- 
formity. Moreover,  it  was  much  cheaper,  even 
relatively  to  construct  and  afterwards  to  operate 
the  narrow  gauge  road  than  the  broad  gauge. 
These  and  other  things,  all  potent  in  themselves, 
caused  the  broad  gauge  roads  to  rapidly  fall  into 
disrepute,  but  the  idea  was  not  completely  and 
finally  abandoned  in  England  until  1892  when 

*  In  tliis  connection  it  should  not  be  forgotten  tliat  the  track 
in  1846  and  ISi?  was  much  inferior  to  that  of  to-day.  The  fish 
plate  had  not  then  been  introduced;  moreover,  the  art  of  track 
laying,  which  has  reached  so  high  a  plane,  was  in  its  infancy, 
comparatively.  The  absence  of  heavy  rails  and  other  appli- 
ances we  consider  so  necessary  to  a  perfect  track  rendered  heavy 
locomotives,  and  fast  running  matters  of  gi'eat  difficulty  in  1846. 


EVOLUTION  OF  LOCOMOTIVE.  37 

the  Great  Western  railway  changed  the  last  of 
its  broad  gauge  engines  to  conform  to  the  stand- 
ard system. 

While  the  broad  gauge  delusion  occasioned 
owners  the  loss  of  incalculable  sums  in  the  con- 
struction of  broad  gauge  lines  and,  subsequently, 
in  their  operation,  it  is  not  probable  the  lesson 
could  have  been  learned  in  any  less  expensive 
v^ay.  In  all  new  enterprises,  if  men  cannot  dem- 
onstrate their  ideas  on  the  spot,  they  will  be 
disputed,  and  thus  time  only  can  determine  their 
accuracy.  An  incidental  advantage  that  accrued 
from  the  battle  of  the  gauges,  or  grew  out  of 
the  sharp  rivalry  it  occasioned,  was  the  great 
improvement  in  the  locomotive  which  the  intense 
study  of  the  situation  and  its  needs  and  the  effort 
to  distance  competitors  suggested.  This  was 
some  compensation  to  the  public  and  to  owners 
for  the  vast  sums  expended  on  the  broad  gauge 
roads.  The  struggle  between  the  rival  factions 
would  have  terminated  much  earlier  than  it  did, 
it  is  believed,  except  for  the  lack  of  tact  dis- 
played by  railw^ay  managers,  notably  Bury,  of  the 
London  and  Birmingham  railway,  who,  running 
to  the  other  extreme,  insisted  upon  building  and 
operating  engines  with  very  small  driving  wheels. 
These  locomotives  showed  very  poorly  in  com- 
parison with  the  magnificent  engines  on  the  Great 
AVestern,  and  prejudiced  people  in  favor  of  the 
latter.  However,  the  struggle  was  unequal  and, 
although  the  Great  Western  continued  to  operate 
some  of  its  broad  gauge  locomotives  as  late  as 


38 


RAILWAY  EQUIPMENT. 


1S92,  the  superiority  of  the  standard  gauge  had 
manifested  itself  many  years  before. 
As  another  illustration  of  the   difficulties  in 

which  the  early 
projects  were  beset 
by  the  lack  of  pre- 
cedent or  experi- 
ence, the  case  of 
boiler  construction 
may  be  cited. 
Thus,  the  length  of 
the  boiler  of  the 
locomotive  could 
not  at  the  begin- 
ning be  determined 
by  known  utility. 
It  was  only  when 
the  smoke-stacks 
of  these  machines  were  found  to  be  quickly 
burned  out,  that  it  was  surmised  the  escaping 
heat  must  be  unduly  great.  Tests  were  accord- 
ingly made  and  this  was  found  to  be  the  case. 
To  stop  the  waste  the  boiler  was  lengthened  so 
as  to  secure  increased  heating  surface  and  more 
complete  consumption  of  the  fuel. 

At  the  close  of  the  ninteenth  century  we  find 
that  the  growth  of  the  locomotive  is  not  yet 
ended.  It  is  impracticable  to  give  a  minute 
account  of  its  evolution  with  illustrations  of  the 
various  locomotives  upon  which  changes  or 
improvements  have  been  made.  As  a  matter  of 
fact,   probably    a    locomotive    has    never    been 


The  "Traveler."  1832.  The  first  distinctive 
freight  engine.  It  was  built  by  Phineas 
Davis,  and  remained  in  service  until  1893. 


EVOLUTION  OF  LOCOMOTIVE. 


39 


manufactured  that  was  not  intended  to  bo  in 
some  respects  an  improvement  over  those  pre- 
ceding it.  The  growth  of  the  locomotive  is, 
however,  marked  by  a  few  great  and  important 
improvements.  These  it  is  not  only  possible, 
but  will  be  interesting  and  valuable  to  notice. 
The  series  of  pictures  embraced  in  this  chapter 
the  reader  will,  upon  examination,  discover  to  be 
progressive  in  these  practical  details.  I  have  not 
attempted  to  portray  every  representative  engine 


The  "Pioneer."    1836.    One  of  Baldvviu's  early  engines. 

from  the  beginning,  but  only  such  as  are  neces- 
sary to  the  illustration  of  the  idea  I  wish  to 
convey. 

In  regard  to  the  details  of  locomotives,  they 
represent,  in  a  measure,  their  evolution.  Some 
of  these  details  I  have  incorporated  in  a  table  in 
the  Appendix  hereto,  where  particulars  may  be 
seen  at  a  glance  and  quickly  analyzed.'"  The 
table  embraces  a  statement  of  the  weight  of  par- 
ticular locomotives,  number  of  driving  Avheels, 
diameter    and    stroke    of    cylinders,   and    other 

*  See  Appendix  A. 


40 


RAILWAY  EQUIPMENT. 


important  particulars  relating  to  representative 
machines,  commencing  with  that  constructed  by 
Trevithick  in  1803.  The  table  is  not  exhaustive, 
but  sufficiently  so  for  practical  purposes.  With 
the  aid  of  this  table  the  reader  will  be  able  to 
trace  from  year  to  year  the  vigorous  growth  of 
this  great  engine  of  civilization.  He  will,  more- 
over, be  grateful,  I  feel  assured,  for  this  con- 
densation, which  will  enable  him  to  escape  the 
laborious  delving  through  many  dull  pages  of 
print  which  would  otherwise  be  necessary. 


The  "Samson."    1838.    Built  by  Timothy  Hackworth  of  England.    In  service 
in  a  coal  mine  in  Nova  Scotia  over  forty  years. 

With  this  brief  explanation,  I  will  take  up  the 
more  important  characteristics  of  the  locomo- 
tives in  the  general  order  they  have  been  evolved 
from  time  to  time.  It  will  not  occupy  much 
space  in  telling,  while  it  is  necessary  to  a  knowl- 
edge of  the  growth  of  the  machine. 

To  commence,  then,  the  reader  will  not  have 
failed  to  remark  how  exceedingly  simple  the 
locomotive  was  that  Trevithick  constructed  in 


EVOLUTION  OF  LOCOMOTIVE.  41 

1803.  The  wheels  of  this  engine,  four  in  number, 
were  four  feet,  six  inches  in  diameter;  the  boiler 
was  six  feet  long  and  contained  a  return  flue 
tube;  the  engine  had  one  horizontal  cylinder 
eight  inches  in  diameter,  with  a  stroke  of  four 
feet,  six  inches.  This  engine  had  smooth  wheels 
which  were  made  to  run  upon  smooth  rails,  as 
already  noticed. 


Matthews'  Locomotive.    Utica  &  Schenectady  Railroad.    1840. 

The  locomotive  constructed  by  Blenkinsop  had 
a  rack  rail  and  cog  wheel  driving  gear,  and  was 
supported  by  four  wheels  of  three  feet,  six  inches 
diameter;  it  had  two  vertical  cylinders  eight 
inches  in  diameter  with  a  stroke  of  twenty 
inches.  This  engine  evaporated  eight  cubic  feet 
of  water  per  hour,  consumed  seventy-five  pounds 
of  coal  per  hour,  and  could  haul  ninety-four  tons 
on  a  level  track  at  a  rate  of  three  and  one-half 
miles  an  hour. 


42 


RAILWAY  EQUIPMENT. 


Hedley's  locomotive,  ''Puffing  Bill)^"  had  a 
wroiight-iron  boiler  with  a  return  flue,  and  two 
vertical  cj^linders;  the  piston  rods  were  con- 
nected to  beams  and  motion  was  communicated 
to  the  four  smooth  driving  w^heels  by  means  of 
toothed-gear;  the  exhaust  steam  was  discharged 
into  the  chimney  by  two  blast-pipes. 

The  first  locomotive  built  by  George  Stephen- 
son, called  the  "Blucher,"  ran  upon  four  smooth 
wheels  three  feet  in  diameter,  which  were  placed 


r^ 


The  "Camel."    1S48.    Built  by  Ross  Winans  of  Baltimore.    A  chute  was  pro- 
vided for  feeding  coal  through  the  top  of  the  fire-box. 

five  feet  apart  between  centers.  Its  boiler  was 
eight  feet  long,  thirty-four  inches  in  diameter, 
with  a  flue-tube  passing  through  it  of  twenty 
inches  diameter.  It  had  two  vertical  cylinders 
eight  inches  in  diameter  with  a  twenty-four  inch 
stroke,  the  power  of  which  was  communicated 
by  cross  beams  and  connecting  rods  to  cranks  on 
the  spindles  of  spur  wheels,  w^iich  in  turn  acted 
upon  the  large  cog  wheels  on  the  engine  axles. 
This  engine  was  without  springs  and  the  cog 
wheel  gear  soon  became  worn  with  use. 


EVOLUTION  OF  LOCOMOTIVE. 


43 


The  pictures  of  these  four  engines,  just 
described,  accompany  this,  and,  taking  their 
machinery  as  a  basis,  we  may  go  forward  and 
note  some  of  the  more  important  changes  which 
have  since  occurred  in  the  evolution  of  the 
engine. 

In  following  this  description,  or  evolution,  the 
reader  is  asked  not  to  attach  too  much  import- 
ance to  dates  or  places.  It  must  be  remembered 
in  this  connection  that  many  of  the  improve- 
ments made  in  the  construction  of  locomotives 


The  "Dragon."  1848.  The  first  engine  built  for  burning  Cumberland  coal, 
and  the  first  to  have  a  rocking  grate.  The  grate  was  operated  from  the  foot- 
board, which  became  the  general  custom  afterward. 

occurred  almost  simultaneously  in  different 
countries.  In  describing  a  change,  therefore, 
that  we  will  say  occurred  in  the  United  States 
in  1846,  it  may  be  possible  this  change  was 
made  in  England  or  Scotland  in  1845.  Whether 
this  is  so  or  not  is  of  little  account,  or  whether 
the  discovery  was  made  by  an  Englishman,  an 
American  or  a  Frenchman.  It  is  the  fact  I 
seek.  That  has  an  interest  and  value  to  all 
mankind.  The  other  is  merely  local  and  tem- 
porary.    Let  me  illustrate  this.     The  American 


44 


RAILWAY  EQUIPMENT. 


locomotive  has  exceeded  the  English  built  engine 
in  its  ability  to  haul  a  big  load  at  a  high 
rate  of  speed.  Why  is  this  so?  Because  of  its 
gigantic  boiler,  high  steam  pressure  and  enor- 
mous heating  surface.  This  great  boiler  creates 
a  vast  storehouse  for  the  generation  of  steam, 
unknown,  until  later  years,  in  any  other  ma- 
chines in  the  world,  while  the  bogies  enable 
it  to  wind  in  and  out  on  a  track  which  the 
rigid  frames,  so  long  the  predominating  pattern 
in  other  countries,  would  not  have  been  able 


1849. 


The  "John  Stevens."    Camden  &  Amboy  Railway. 

to  traverse.  The  superiority  of  the  American 
engine  in  this  particular  is  generally  recognized. 
It  grew  out  of  the  necessities  of  transportation 
in  the  United  States,  mainly  our  great  distances, 
and  heavy  loads  and  sharply  curved  tracks.  The 
only  material  fact  in  all  this  to  the  student  of 
the  world  is  to  know  there  is  such  a  locomotive 
in  successful  operation,  what  it  is  like,  and 
wherein  it  is  superior  to  others  in  the  accom- 
plishment of  certain  results.  Whether  this  loco- 
motive was  constructed  in  Schenectady  or  Glas- 
gow is  of  no  importance  to  the  world's  student. 


EVOLUTION  OF  LOCOMOTIVE. 


45 


For  these  reasons,  in  my  description  of  the 
evolution  of  the  locomotive  (and,  indeed,  of  the 
machinery  department  generally),  I  shall  strive 
to  describe  as  nearly  as  I  can  the  facts  merely, 
without  occupying  too  much  space  over  unim- 
portant details  of  place,  and  without  straining 
to  determine  to  whom  the  fact  first  became 
apparent. 

In  this  connection  I  will  mention,  what  young 
men  may  not  know,  that  the  practice  of  desig- 
nating particular  engines  by  specific  names  was 


First  Ten-Wheeled  Passenger  Engine.     "  Thatcher  Perkins."    1863. 

followed  in  the  early  history  of  railroads.  This 
has  now  given  place  to  the  use  of  numbers. 
Proceeding  to  details,  let  us  first  take  up  the 
cylinder.  Surely  there  is  nothing  about  the 
machine  of  greater  importance  than  this. 

Cylinders. — The  first  locomotive  designed  by 
Trevithick,  in  1803,  had  but  one  cylinder,  placed 
horizontally  on  the  inside.  Up  to  1826  the  cylin- 
ders were  placed  vertically,  half  within  the 
boiler.  In  1826,  when  the  engine  "Experiment'^ 
was  designed  by  George  Stephenson  for  use  on 
the  Stockton  and  Darlington  Railway,  inclined 


46 


RAIL WA  Y   EQ UIPMKNT. 


cjdinders  were  placed  outside  of  the  boiler.  The 
first  locomotives  with  horizontal  cylinders  de- 
signed by  Stephenson  were  built  in  1830, — the 
"Northumbrian"  had  outside  cylinders  and  the 
""  Planet''  inside  cylinders.*  In  1836  Tayleur  and 
Company  designed  locomotives  with  cylinders 
fourteen  inches  in  diameter  with  only  a  twelve- 
inch  stroke,  but  the  short  stroke  did  not  work  to 
advantage. 


The  First  Passenger  Mogul.  1876.  An  engine  with  six  drivers  and  a  bogie 
truck.  Built  by  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio  Railroad  for  exhibition  at  the  Centen- 
nial exposition. 

In  1878  Mr.  F.  VV.  Webb,  of  the  London  and 
Northwestern  Railway,  invented  and  constructed 
a  compound  locomotive  having  three  cylinders. 
The  introduction  of  this  principle  in  connection 
with  locomotives  has  caused  much  controversy. 
Those  who  favor  the  compound  engine  claim 
that  by  the  utilization  of  the  steam  first  in  the 
high  pressure  cylinders  and  then  again  in  the 
low  pressure  a  saving  of  fuel   is  effected.     On 

*  "Inside"  and  "outside"  cylinders  are  explained  in  detail 
in  connection  with  the  '<  Description  of  the  Locomotive." 


RVOLUTIOX  OF  LOCOMOTIVE.  47 

the  other  hand,  those  who  do  not  favor  the 
compound  engine  claim  no  saving  whatever  is 
effected,  and  that  what  tlie  compound  locomotive 
can  do,  the  other  can  do  as  well,  or  better.  How- 
ever, invention  did  not  stop  with  Mr.  Webb,  and 
compound  locomotives  with  two,  three  and  four 
cylinders,  variously  arranged,  have  been  designed 
andbuilt."^  Others  have  taken  it  up  and,  believing 
in  it,  have  gone  on  with  their  experiments;  but, 
while  many  locomotives  of  this  description  are 
manufactured  and  under  successful  operation, 
controversy  as  regards  the  merits  of  the  respect- 
ive machines  is  in  no  wdse  lessened.  The  man- 
ufacturers of  the  compound  locomotives  are 
more  explicit,  however,  than  formerly,  claiming 
that  a  certain  percentage  of  fuel  is  saved,  even 
going  so  far  as  to  state  the  percentage.  This  is 
contradicted  by  those  who  claim  nothing  is 
saved.  Moreover,  the  latter  claim  that  the  com- 
pound cylinder  increases  first  cost  and  otherwise 
complicates  the  machinery  of  the  locomotive. 
The  advocates  of  the  compound  engine  assert, 
among  other  things,  that  it  will  keep  a  train 
moving  on  a  heavy  grade  where  an  ordinary  high 
pressure  engine  would  slip  and  be  stalled;  this, 
in  the  case  of  the  former,  because  of  the  more 
uniform  pressure  on  the  crank  pins  through- 
out the  stroke.  Another  advantage  claimed 
for  it  is  that,  because  of  the  better  utilization 
of  the  steam,  less  demand  is  made  upon  the 
boiler,  and  in  consequence  of  the  mild  exhaust 
required   to    maintain  sufficient  steam-pressure, 

*ThH  sulijectof  Compound  Locomotives  is  treated  of  in  great 
detail  and  witli  profuse  illustrations  in  Vol.  XI^ 


48 


RAIL  WA  Y  EQ  UIPMEXT. 


no  unconsumed  fuel  is  carried  through  the  flues, 
the  necessary  results  being  obtained  with  slower 
combustion.  These  claims  are  backed  up  by 
manufacturers  by  continued  construction  and 
improvement  of  locomotives  of  the  compound 
type.  Out  of  the  controversy  between  the  rival 
types  much  good  may  possibly  accrue  to  the 
world  as  in  the  case  of  the  war  of  the  gauges. 

Link  Motion. — The  first  locomotive  in  which 
the  valve  gear  was  fitted  with  the  shifting  link 
motion  was  designed  by  William  T.  James,  of 
New  York,    in    1832.     The  valve   gear  of  the 

Stephenson  en- 
gines was  known 
as  the  fork  motion. 
The  eccentric  rods 
of  this  machine 
were  provided  w^ith 
forks  which  en- 
gaged with  the  pins  fastened  to  the  arms  of  the 
valve  rods.  In  1842  William  Howe,  an  employe 
of  R.  Stephenson  and  Company,  devised  a  curved 
link  to  take  the  place  of  the  forks.*  This  was 
the  first   introduction   of    the    link    motion    in 


Stephenson's  Fork  Valve  ^Motion,  or  gear- 
ing attached  to  the  driving  axles  of  the  loco- 
motive, 1835. 


*  <<  The  link  motion  was  a  separate  invention  in  England  in 
1842,  and  it  was  introduced  by  "William  Howe  and  fitted  to  the 
North  Midland  Company's  engine.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  now 
equally  certain  that  the  'James,'  designed  and  built  by  W.  T. 
James,  of  New  York,  was  the  first  locomotive  in  the  world  fitted 
with  the  link  motion.  It  had  a  vertical  boiler,  four  wheels 
(not  coupled),  and  inclined  cylinders  driving  a  spur  wheel 
shaft  directly  above  the  driving  axle,  and  was  constructed  in 
1832,  or  ten  years  before  the  English  invention." — Mr,  Clement 
E.  St  ret  ton. 


EVOLUTION  OF  LOCOMOTIVE. 


49 


/!e3c/>  /foo- 


Ka/ff/^ 


Howe's  Link  Motion,  or  gearing 
attached  to  the  driving  axles  of 
the  locomotive,  1842. 


England.  It  also  provided 
for  cutting  off  steam  at 
various  parts  of  the  stroke. 
The  *' George  W.  John- 
son "  is  said  to  have  been 
the  first  engine  having  a  double  fire-box,  built  in 
1831.  The  valve  gear  of  this  engine  was  also  the 
first  instance  of  what  was  afterward  known  as 

the ''V"  hook. 

Reversing  Gear. — 
New  features,  which 
were  extensively 
copied,  were  intro- 
duced in  this  connec- 
tion by  the  Baldw^in 
Locomotive  Works. 
It  is  noticeable  in 
connection  with  the 
construction  of  its 
first  engine,  the  "Old 
Ironsides,"  built  in  1832,  that  Mr.  Baldwin  did 
most  of  the  work  himself,  capable  mechanics  and 
suitable  tools  not  being  available. 

Wheels.  —  In  1833  Stephenson  took  out  a 
patent  providing  for  the  construction  of  six- 
wheeled  engines,  with  no  flanges  on  the  middle 
pair  of  wheels.  This  was  found  to  facilitate  their 
passing  around  curves,  and  the  practice  of  omit- 
ting the  flange  from  the  front  or  middle  drivers 
on  locomotives  with  six  or  more  driving  wheels 
is  still  in  vogue.* 

*  For  details  regarding  the  manufacture  of  -wheels,  see  vol- 
ume "Train  Service." 
4-    Vol.  I 


"Geo.  W.  Johnson."    1830.    The  first  loco- 
motive having  a  double  fire  box. 


50 


RAILWAY   EQUII-AtlENT. 


Bogie. — Financial  conditions  in  America  being 
greatly  different  from  those  in  Europe,  it  soon 

became  evident  that 
money  could  not  be 
obtained  with  which  to 
to  carry  on  the  work  of 
constructing  railways 
and  maintaining  the 
straight  tracks  and 
easy  grades  of  the 
English  railways.  Al- 
though the  four-wheel 

.'Old  Ironsides."  1832.  The  first  loco-  ^Ogle  principle  WaS  iu- 
motive  built  by  Matthias  W.  Baldwin,  troduCed  by  Hedley  & 
founder  of    the   Baldwin   Locomotive    -m       i      j_  i?  i    i. 

Works.  Blacket,  as  reterred  to 

elsewhere,  it  was  not  used,  nor  the  idea  developed 
afterward  on  English  railways,  until  its  use  in 
America  emphasized,  over  and  over  again,  its 
enormous  value  in 
railway  operations. 
In  1832  John  B. 
Jervis  built  the 
locomotive  "Ex- 
periment" with  a 
four-wheel  bogie 
truck,  which  en- 
abled these  ma- 
chines to  run 
around  curves  of 
very  sharp  radius, 
thus  greatly  less- 
ening the  cost  of 


The  "  Experiment,"  built  by  John  B.  Jervis, 
in  183:2,  and  said  to  have  been  the  first  engine 
in  America  constructed  witU  a  four-wheeled 
bogie. 


EVOLUTION  OF  LOCOMOTIVE. 


51 


construction.  Jervis  believed  engines  should  be 
made  especially  for  light  rails  and  crooked  roads, 
and  the  adoption  of  the  swiveling  or  bogie  truck 
was  the  result.  It  was  a  great  step,  of  enormous 
value  to  railroads,  and  its  merits  are  now  appre- 
ciated all  over  the  world. 

Equalizing  Levers.  —  The  first  engine  with 
equalizing  levers  are  said  to  have  been  built 
by  Henry  R.  Campbell  of  Philadelphia,  in  1837, 
called  the  ^'Hercules."      The  engine  was  built 


The  "  Hercules."    1837.    Built  by  Eastwich  &  Harrison.    The  first  engine 
having  equalizing  levers. 

with  four  drivers  and  a  four-wheel  truck  in  front, 
and  under  the  rear  end  of  the  main  frame  a  sep- 
arate frame  was  placed  for  the  two  axles — one 
pair  in  front  and  one  behind  the  fire-box.  This 
frame  supported  the  weight  of  the  engine  by 
means  of  strong  springs  and  was  held  in  position 
by  a  pedestal  fastened  to  the  main  frame.  The 
centers  of  the  latter  vibrated  upon  a  journal  slid- 
ing vertically  in  the  pedestal.     By  means  of  the 


equalizing    lever  the 


weight 


of   the  engine  is 


52 


RAILWAY  EQUIPMENT. 


equally  distributed  on  all  the  driving  wheels, 
even  during  their  vertical  oscillations  when  pass- 
ing over  imperfect  track,  thus  greatly  overcom- 
ing the  tendency  of  locomotives  to  leave  the 
track  when  the  latter  is  rough. 

Boilers. — The  early  locomotive  boilers  were 
copied  from  vertical  and  horizontal  stationary 
boilers  and  were  not  adapted  especially  to  the 


The  "Campbell."    1837.    The  first  standard  American  eight-wheel 

locomotive. 

locomotive.  Among  other  improvements  came 
the  locomotive  type  of  boiler,  with  its  special 
form  of  fire  box.  Undoubtedly  the  development 
of  this  type  has  had  a  very  important  bearing 
upon  locomotive  construction  as  a  whole.* 

Flues. — In  1842  Robert  Stephenson  lengthened 
the  flues  of  locomotives  from  nine  to  fourteen 
feet,  in  order  to  reduce  the  amount  of  heat  going 

*  Mr.  Eobert  Quayle. 


EVOLUTION  OF  LOCOMOTIVE.  53 

out  of  the  smokestack.  By  this  means  the  heat 
in  the  stack  was  reduced  from  seven  hundred 
se vent}' -three  degrees  to  four  hundred  forty-two 
degrees,  which  overcame  to  a  great  extent  the 
destruction  of  the  chimneys  and  smoke  boxes. 

Sand  Blast.  —  An  improvement  in  this  con- 
nection was  introduced  by  Messrs.  Holt  and 
Gresham,  by  which  a  jet  of  steam  is  admitted 
to  the  sand  ejector,  thus  forcing  a  small  and  uni- 
form supply  of  sand  from  the  sand  box  and  pro- 
jecting it  in  a  powerful  and  constant  current  to 
the  point  of  contact  between  the  wheel  and  rail. 
This  prevented  the  great  waste  which  had  pre- 
viously occurred  when  the  sand  was  allowed  to 
simply  run  through  the  sand  pipe,  from  box  to 
rail.  The  same  result  is  now  accomplished  by 
the  use  of  air  instead  of  steam. 

Frame. — The  matter  of  engine  frames  is  also 
an  important  detail.  In  the  first  locomotive 
designs  there  was  a  disposition  manifest  to  place 
the  boiler  and  machinery  of  the  locomotive  upon 
a  platform  built  over  the  running  gear.  Later 
in  such  engines  as  the  "Sampson"  we  find  frames 
and  platforms  dispensed  with  and  the  pedestals 
for  the  driving  box  attached  directly  to  the 
boiler.  Later  the  locomotive  frame  appears,  and 
in  this  country  has  developed  into  what  is  known 
as  the  "bar"  frame,  while  in  Europe  the  "plate" 
frame  is  used.* 

Fuel.  —  Early  English  locomotives  were  de- 
signed to  burn  coke  for  fuel.     Early  American 

*Mr.  Robert  Quayle. 


54  RAILWAY  EQUIPMENT. 

locomotives  burned  wood.  Various  experiments 
were  made  with  a  view  to  the  use  of  coal. 
Between  the  years  1853  and  1860  numerous 
engines  with  complicated  boilers  and  fire  boxes 
and  special  forms  of  grates  were  constructed  to 
this  end,  but  experiments  at  length  proved  that 
all  the  changes  necessary  to  the  advantageous 
use  of  coal  were  a  brick  arch  placed  in  the  ordi- 
nary fire  box,  below  the  tubes,  a  deflector  or 
baffle-plate  within  the  door,  a  fire  door  by  which 
the  supply  of  cold  air  could  be  properly  regu- 
lated, and  a  steam  jet  or  blower  in  the  chimney. 
In  Russia,  America  and  other  countries,  crude  oil 
is  more  or  less  used.  In  localities  where  it  can 
be  obtained  cheaply  it  has  taken  the  place  of  all 
other  kinds  of  fuel,  and  the  fire  boxes  of  the 
locomotives  have  been  adapted  thereto. 

Injector. — This  device  was  first  used  in  Eng- 
land, in  1859,  on  the  London  &  Northwestern 
Railway  engine  ''Problem."  It  was  designed  and 
patented  by  H.  J.  Giffard,  a  French  engineer,  who 
discovered  that  steam  from  the  boiler  rushing 
through  an  injector,  had  enough  force  to  force 
water  from  the  tender,  with  the  condensed 
steam,  into  the  boiler.*  This  w^as  one  of  the 
greatest  discoveries  thnt  has  been  made  in  per- 
fecting the  locomotive. 

Whistle. — The  steaia  whistle  was  first  sug- 
gested to  George  Stephonson  by  the  manager  of 
the  Leicester  &  Swannngton  Railway,  in  1833, 
on  account  of  an  accident  caused  by  one  of  the 

*  For  illustrations  of  an  injector,  see  pages  77  and  78. 


EVOLUTION  OF  LOCOMOTIVE. 


55 


company's  engines  running  into  a  horse  and  cart 
at  a  crossing.  Stephenson,  on  his  attention  being 
called  to  the  need,  had  a  trumpet,  operated  by 
steam,  manufactured  and  placed  on  the  engine. 
The  present  steam  whistle  is  a  development  of 
the  trumpet. 

Cab. — The  cab  of  the  locomotive,  which  has 
always  been  considered  an  essential  part  of  it  in 
America,  was  not  esteemed  necessary  in  Great 
Britain.  The  reason  of  this  difference,  it  is  prob- 
able, was  because  the  distances  to  be  traversed  in 


The  "  DeWitt  Clinton."  It  is  said  to  have  hauled  the  first  passenger  train 
ever  run  in  America.  The  cab  on  the  engine  is  the  first  one  ever  constructed. 
Mohawk  and  Hudson  Railroad,  1831. 

America  are  much  greater  and  the  fact  that  the 
thermometer  falls  much  lower  than  it  does  in 
England.  The  English,  moreover,  looked  upon 
it  as  an  obstruction  and  an  embarrassment  to 
the  engineer  in  the  performance  of  his  duty. 
This  objection  they  are  now  inclined  to  believe 
not  to  be  well  founded,  and  as  new  locomotives 
are  constructed  the  managers  of  the  British  lines 
will  be  induced  to  supply  them  with  a  cab  some- 
thing like  that  used  in  the  United  States  and 
Canada.    The  first  locomotive  built  with  a  cab 


56  RAILWAY  EQUIPMENT. 

is  said  to  have  been  the  ''DeWitt  Clinton,''  on 
the  Mohawk  and  Hudson  Railroad  in  1831.  The 
American  style  of  cab  was  introduced  into 
England  in  1889,  when  Mr.  T.  W.  Worsdell,  loco- 
motive superintendent  of  the  Northeastern  Rail- 
way, designed  and  built  a  locomotive  fitted  with 
a  comfortable  cab. 

Cowcatcher  or  Pilot. — This  device  is  consid- 
ered a  fundamental  part  of  the  locomotive  on 
nearly  every  road  in  America.  It  is,  however, 
hardly  known  in  Great  Britain  and  many  other 
countries.  When  railroads  were  first  operated 
in  tha  United  States  many  of  them  were  unfenced. 
Indeed,  this  is  the  case  more  or  less  to-day.  Most 
of  the  highway  crossings,  moreover,  were  at 
grade.  Track  obstructions  were,  therefore,  fre- 
quent and  in  order  to  prevent  them  so  far  as 
possible  from  derailing  the  train,  the  cowcatcher, 
or  pilot,  was  introduced  to  clear  the  track.  It  is, 
of  course,  a  makeshift  and,  while  it  often  fails  to 
accomplish  the  purpose  for  which  it  was  designed, 
it  is  in  the  main  beneficial. 

Snowplow. — This,  like  the  pilot,  has  a  specific 
object,  namely,  to  clear  the  track  of  snow  and 
ice.  Many  forms  have  been  used  for  this  pur- 
pose; but  where  there  is  great  need  for  a  device 
of  this  kind,  the  cylindrical  or  rotary  form  of 
snowplow  carried  on  separate  running  gear  ahead 
of  the  locomotive,  is  very  generally  favored  by 
railroad  managers.  It  is  placed  on  the  front  end 
of  a  car  containing  a  boiler  and  engine  for  oper- 
ating the  machine,  and  is  encased  in  a  sheet  iron 


EVOLUTION  OF  LOCOMOTIVE.  57 

box  having  an  opening  at  the  top.  The  engine  in 
the  car  causes  the  machine  or  plow  to  revolve  and 
its  rotary  motion  forces  the  snow  from  the  track 
through  the  opening  in  the  top  and  thus  entirel}^ 
away  from  the  track.  Tlie  car  is  attached  to  the 
front  of  the  train  locomotive  and  propelled 
thereby.  In  ordinary  cases,  however,  when  the 
snow  is  not  closely  packed  or  very  deep,  the 
engine  pilot  or  cowcatcher  is  covered  with  sheet 
iron  and  used  as  a  snowplow. 

Headlights.- — Headlights  were  placed  on  loco- 
motives as  early  as  1830,  being  at  first  crude 
affairs  in  the  shape  of  a  fire  basket  hung  on 
the  front  of  the  engine.  They  were 
not,  however,  designed  to  afford  the 
engineer  a  view  of  the  track.  In- 
deed, the  general  absence  of  grade 
crossings  on  English  roads  have 
rendered  the  use  of  headlights  and 
cowcatchers  less  necessary  than  in 
America.  In  England  to-day  the 
small 'lights  carried  on  the  front  of 
the  locomotive  are  merely  for  the  fire^'bLife^f^at? 
purpose  of  designating  the  different  ^^^^f  ^?  ^^^  ^''^ 

a  .  *-'^  '"^    train  as    a 

classes  of  trains.  In  the  early  his-  «ig"ai- 
tory  of  American  railways  night  trips  were 
avoided  as  much  as  possible.  When  the  carrying 
of  the  mails  necessitated  night  service,  it  was 
considered  a  great  hardship.  Among  the  first 
provisions  for  a  headlight  in  this  country  was  a 
fire  of  pine  knots  surrounded  by  sand,  built  on 
an  open  platform  car  which  moved  in  front  of 


58  RAILWAY   EQUIPMENT. 

the  locomotive.  When  it  was  found  that  the 
transportation  of  freight  by  night  was  a  great 
gain  in  time  and  diminished  the  chances  of  col- 
lisions, the  Boston  and  Worcester  railroad  com- 
pany prepared,  in  1840,  a  bright  headlight  with 
reflectors  for  the  locomotive  which  ran  during 
the  night.  From  this  developed  the  silver-plated 
copper  reflectors  fitted  with  lamps  and  carried  in 
front  of  the  smokestack.  Double  headlights,  so 
placed  that  the  rays  from  the  two  lamps  cross 
each  other,  are  found  advantageous  for  affording 
a  view  of  the  track  in  passing  around  curves. 
Electricity  will  doubtless  in  time  take  the  place 
of  other  devices  for  lighting  the  track;  but 
excessive  cost,  here  as  elsewhere,  in  connection 
with  the  use  of  electrical  appliances  by  railways, 
is  an  obstacle  which  must  first  be  overcome.* 

Bell.  —  An  improvement  on  the  ordinary 
method  of  ringing  the  locomotive  bell  by  hand 
with  a  rope,  is  the  automatic  bell  ringer  operated 
by  air  or  steam.  This  ingenious  invention,  at  once 
a  measure  of  safety  and  a  labor  saving  device,  is 
now  so  generally  used  as  not  to  attract  notice. 

Such  are  some  of  the  more  important  improve- 
ments made  in  the  locomotive.  In  another  chap- 
ter I  propose  to  take  up  the  Modern  Locomotive, 
and  by  descriptions  and  engravings,  illustrate  its 
important  parts.  This  description  will  also  serve 
in  an  important  respect  to  further  illustrate  the 
evolution  of  the  locomotive,  as  will  be  seen  by 
comparing  the  diagram  therein  of  a  modern  loco- 
motive with  that  invented  by  Trevithick. 

*Acetylene  gas,  more  modern  tliao  the  others,  is  more  or  less 
used  for  lighting  passenger  cars  and  headlights. 


e^^^^ 


aLWAYS. 


?? 


each  part  of  the  locomotive  being  given  a  number  so  taat  it 


DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  LOCOMOTIVE,  AS  PER    DIAGRAM  HEREWITH. 


Tre'onpr 


THE  AMERICAN  STEAM  LOCOMOTIVE.— Prepared   exclusively  for   Kirkman's  "Science  of  RAiLWAVa." 


CHAPTER  II. 

DESCRIPTION    OF    THE    LOCOMOTIVE.      ' 

The  machinery  of  the  locomotive  is  so  vast  and 
involved  that  its  working  and  details  can  not  be 
clearlj^  explained  in  print,  and  to  attempt  it  is  to 
tire  the  reader  and  dull  his  enthusiasm  without 
enlightening  his  understanding.  The  accompany- 
ing illustrations,  however,  will  make  plain  what 
type  is  not  able,  unaided,  to  do.  Great  care  has 
been  taken  to  make  these  cuts  so  full  and  clear 
that  nothing  which  can  be  portrayed  in  this  man- 
ner may  be  wanting  to  afford  the  reader  a  clear 
understanding  of  his  subject. 

Taking  the  chapter  as  a  whole,  the  inquirer 
may  derive  from  it  a  very  intelligent  idea  of  the 
construction  of  the  locomotive  and  its  working; 
but  to  do  this,  the  matter  must  be  closely  and 
exhaustively  studied.  It  must  be  studied  as  schol- 
ars study  their  lessons — consecutively  and  pains- 
takingly^— not  hurried  nor  cursorily. 

The  accompanying  cuts  portraying  the  loco- 
motive (some  fifty  in  number),  taken  in  connec- 
tion with  other  illustrations  embodied  herein 
(of  locomotives),  leave  nothing  to  be  said  on 
the  subject.  In  pursuing  the  theme,  it  will 
help  the  reader  to  a  more   clear  conception  of 


60 


RAILWAY   EQUIPMENT. 


►^  O  ^  "O  OJ  cc  oj 

g  .K  ;s  ^  ~  j^  .S 

'-'        0)  o^        >. 

Q    •  a  >  a 


o3 


<D;     he© 

:3  o  2 

^  ?^  S'S 

•"^  *-*  t^  o 

•^  2  **  +^ 

£  2^ 
p  © 

O  3  01  « 

SS2§ 

(-I  ^ 

•1-1  »-  -^ 


C5  ^  "-^  ni  fD  1^       "Z 


©  i;  2  b  ?i 


^    O    .  «  <?'  -r*       CLOD      -S  o  M  o  •r^ 


o 


>,      Aoo      Q  o  o  O  o 


O  .1^  =*  S       c  o  c 
c5 


•  S  S  c  *;  !=^  £ 

o       r'  I— I  /i  _  '^ 


S-- Sin  5? 

■^  o  D  s3  o 

-*    "    -    02 


'-'  g  .>  o  o  p  Q 
K   .  J^'S  -"S  35 


S3-.     S  ©  5 


© 

©X3 


©  ©  3  ZXi' 


©  o 


bct-r; 


r—    © 


C-3 


c  ©  c.^ 


•■=<  o  S  o  5r^ 

552 .a  _ 


4 


g     o     o    •      r 

"^  2  r  ©  -c-  o  S  ^ 
©  -I--  .^  -  i,  n  ■» 

'^  ©  -t  OS  »fi  ?!  S 


a     S  ©  ■= 

(-<   -  _^;  3  © 
'.       S3  ©  /,, 

e-  ^  ;3  c  ^ 

'^O  © 


DESCRIPTIOX  OF  LOCOMOTIVE.  61 

the  locomotive  if,  before  taking  up  this  chapter 
seriatim,  he  will  go  through  it  and  examine  be- 
forehand the  cuts  illustrating  the  locomotive 
in  detail.  Afterward  he  ma}^  take  up  the  chap- 
ter as  a  whole  in  the  order  in  which  it  is  pre- 
sented here. 


In  another  place  I  have  briefly  traced  the  evo- 
lation  of  the  locomotive,  portraying  its  growth 
from  the  rude  device  of  Hero  down  to  compar- 
atively recent  times.  In  this  chapter  I  propose 
to  describe  the  locomotive  as  it  is  to-day. 

Mankind  looks  upon  the  locomotive  as  com- 
plete— as  a  perfect  entity.  This,  however,  is  a 
mistake.  Many  problems  in  connection  with  it 
are  still  unsolved,  or,  at  least,  only  partially  so. 
The  difficulty  has  been,  and  is,  to  accomplish 
within  a  compass  so  limited,  within  confines  so 
narrow,  in  connection  with  so  restless  and  unsta- 
ble a  body,  what  the  ingenuity  of  man  seeks  in 
vain  to  attain  satisfactorily  w^here  every  condi- 
tion is  favorable. 

I  shall  not  attempt  to  point  out  specifically  the 
defects  of  the  locomotive,  but  merely  to  describe 
it  as  it  is.  In  doing  this,  however,  I  shall  indi- 
rectly call  attention  to  the  things  yet  to  be 
achieved;  at  least  it  will  have  this  effect  with 
experts  and  others  familiar  with  the  machine 
and  its  limitations.  And  in  relation  to  the  parts 
which  are  apparently  perfect,  they  are  but  steps 


62 


RAILWAY   EQUIPMENT. 


DESCRIPTION  OF  LOCOMOTIVE. 


63 


on  the  ladder  leading  to  something  better.  It 
will,  for  this  reason,  do  good  to  keep  them  prom- 
inently in  mind.  Man  grows,  and,  with  him,  the 
appliances  he  uses.  All  that  is  necessary  to 
ensure  his  utensils  being  bettered  is  that  he 
should  set  to  work  to  make  them  better.  The 
second  object  I  have  in  view  in  describing  the 
locomotive  is  to  familiarize  those  who  have  no 
practical  knowledge  of  it  (and  never  will  have) 
with  its  construction  and  working.  Every  rail- 
road man  should  possess  this  knowledge.  With- 
out it  his  education  is  incomplete.  Its  possession 
will  broaden  his  intelligence  and  render  him 
more  valuable  to  the  com- 
pany he  serves.  This  truth 
is  so  self-evident  that  it  does 
not  need  argument  or  illus- 
tration. 

The  end  sought  in  a  loco- 
motive is  to  draw  the  load 
desired  with  the  least  ex- 
penditure, including  in  the 
latter  material  and  wear  and 
tear.  In  the  case  of  passen- 
ger engines  speed  is  a  fac- 
tor. In  Great  Britain  it  is 
also  a  factor  in  connection 
with  freight  or  goods  trains. 
Many  railroads  are  neither 
straight  nor  well  constructed 
and  ballasted.  In  such  cases  wear  and  tear  are 
intensified. 


Front  View  of  Locomotive. 
For  names  of  the  parts  shown 
above  see  side  view  of  the 
locomotive  preceding  this. 


64 


RAIL  WA  Y  EQ  UIPMENT. 


In  constructing  the  machine  the  builder  calcu- 
lates the  cylinder  power  of  the  locomotive  needed 

to  move  the  load  required, 
over  and  above  the  amount 
necessary  to  overcome 
weight  of  locomotive,  fric- 
tion, air  resistance  and  the 
inertia  of  the  machine.  The 
ability  of  the  locomotive 
driving  wheel  to  carry  for- 
ward a  load  (without  slip- 
ping) is  said  to  be  equal 
to  about  one-fourth  of  the 
weight  on  the  rail  under 
each  driver.*  In  order  to 
secure  tractive  power,  there- 
fore, required  weight  pro- 
portionate to  the  load  to  be 
hauled  must  be  placed  on 
the  driver.  It  must  also  be 
remembered  that  tractive 
resistance  is  dependent  upon 
speed.  In  practice  the  weight  placed  on  the 
axles  of  the  driver,  and  so  on  the  wheel  and  rail, 
must  be  proportionate  to  the  strength  of  the  rail; 
this  limitation,  therefore,  influences  and  deter- 


Rear  View  of  Locomotive. 
The  parts  shown  above,  not 
included  in  the  side  view  of 
the  locomotive  preceding  this, 
are  as  follows:  60  Throttle  le'v- 
er.  67  Gauge  or  water  cocks. 
68  Water  gauge,  69  Fire  door, 
80  Frame  tie.    82  Oil-can  shelf. 

83  Plugs  at  arch  support  pipes. 

84  Damper. 


*  The  general  practice  of  builders  in  America  is  based  on  the 
theory  that  for  passenger  engines  the  weight  on  the  drivers  is 
equal  to  four  to  one  pound  of  tractive  power;  freight  engines 
four  and  one-fourth  to  one,  and  for  switch  engines  four  and  one- 
half  to  one;  or,  in  other  words,  in  the  last  case,  four  and  one-half 
pounds  of  weight  to  every  pound  of  tractive  power.  The  Mas- 
ter Mechanics'  Association  of  America  endorses  this  formula. 


DESVRIPTION  OF  LOCOMOTIVE. 


65 


mines  the  power  of  the  machine.  Speed  is  further 
a  factor  in  this,  that  it  increases  the  destructive 
force  on  the  rails. 

Locomotives  may  be 
divided    into    four    classes, 
each  especiall}^  adapted  to 
the  service  it  is  designed  to 
perform;  namely,  those  used 
for  switching  cars  at  stations 
or  yards,  freight  traffic,  ordi- 
nary passenger  traffic,  subur- 
ban traffic.     Switching  en- 
gines usually  have   four  or 
six   driving  wheels,   upon 
which,  in  most  instances,  the 
whole  weight  of  the   loco- 
motive   rests.     The   drivers 
are  made  to  bear  the  entire 
weight  in  order  to  afford  the 
adhesion  necessary  for  start- 
ing   heavy    trains     quickly 
and    at   frequent    intervals. 
These  engines  also  have 
'short  wheel  bases  to  enable 
them   to    go   around    sharp 
curves    and    over    switches 
branching    from    the    main 
track  at  sharp  angles.     The 
wheels  are  placed  near  together,  usually  between 
the  smoke  box  and  fire   box.     The  short  wheel 
base   of  the   switching  engine   renders   it  unfit 
for  general    traffic,    because    of    the    unsteady 


Sectional  Views  of  Locomo- 
tive, through  the  exhaust 
chamber  (at  the  left)  and  the 
live  steam  chamber  (at  the 
right).  The  parts  shown  above 
not  included  in  the  side  view 
of  the  locomotive  preceding 
this,  are  as  follows:  52  Lag- 
ging. 70  Pipes  carrying  dry 
steam  to  live  steam  channel 
(76).  71  Slide  valve.  72  \'alve 
cover.  73  Piston.  74  Exhaust 
nozzle.  75  Channel  carrying 
exhaust  steam  from  cylinder 
to  smoke-stack.  70  Live  steam 
channel,  carrying  steam  to  cyl- 
inder from  dry  steam  pipe.  78 
Truck  center  pin.  79  Truck 
axle  collar. 


5    Vol.  1 


66 


RA IL WA  Y    EQUIPMENT. 


motion  produced  when  running  at  a  high  rate 
of  speed. 

In  the  case  of  passenger  trains  the  light  load 
to  be  hauled  permits  placing  a  part  of  the  weight 
of  the  locomotive  on  supporting  wheels  or  trucks. 
The  trucks  carry  the  front  part  of  the  engine. 
One  pair  of  driving  wiieels  is  usuall}^  placed  behind 
the  fire  box  and  another  pair  in  front.  In  many 
instances  the  drivers  are  increased  to  six,  and,  in 
some  cases,  to  eight.  This  does  not  increase  the 
adhesive  power  of  the  locomotive,  but  it  does 
decrease  the  weight  on  each  pair  of  wheels, 
thereby  distributing  the  total  weight  on  the  rails 
over  a  longer  wheel  base,  and  thus  making  the 
locomotive  less  hard  on  the  roadway.^  If  the  same 
weight  were  put  upon  one  pair  of  driving  wheels 

that  is  placed  upon 
four  or  more,  the 
locomotive  would 
have  the  same 
tractive  power  and, 
with  the  same  cyl- 
inder power,  could 
pull  a  greater  load 
than  w4ien  more 
drivers  are  used, 
because  the  ^  extra 
friction  of  the  wheels  would  be  avoided.  While 
one  or  two  pairs  of  drivers  are  generally  sufficient 
for  a  passenger  engine,  three  or  four,  perhaps  five 
pairs  will  be  used  in  the  case  of  a  heavy  goods 
or  freight  locomotive.      The  driving  wheels  of 


Side  View  of  American  Bogie  (or  Pony) 
Truck,  supporting  forward  end  of  locomo- 
tive. 


DESCRIPTION  Ul   LOCOMOTIVE. 


67 


the  latter  are  usually  smaller  than  those  of  the 
former,  j 

It  is  required  of  trains  employed  in  suburban 
service  that  they  should  be  able  to  stop  and  start 
quickly.  To  do  this,  the  locomotive  must  have 
more  than  the  usual  propor- 
tion of  adhesive  weight  to 
prevent  its  slipping,  and  the 
main  valves  must  be  so  con- 
structed as  to  quickly  admit 
steam  to  the  cylinders  and 
exhaust  it  therefrom. 

Speed  is  dependent  upon 
the  velocity  of  the  pistons. 
This  is  achieved  through 
multiplicity  of  reciproca- 
tions, that  is,  the  reciproca- 
tions multiply  the  rapidity 
with  which  the  steam  acts 
upon  the  pistons;  but,  as 
this  is  limited,  it  becomes 
necessary  to  increase  the 
size  of  the  drivers  in  order 
to  secure  the  maximum 
speed  desired.  This  is  why 
passenger  engines  have  large 
wheels,  while  engines  not  re- 
quired to  make  great  speed 
have  smaller  ones. 

The  velocity  required   in 
hauling  a  load  is  dependent  upon  the  pressure  of 
steam  on  the    pistons.      For    this    reason    the 


Sectional  Views  of  Loco- 
motive, through  the  forward 
driver  (at  the  left)  and  the 
fire  box  (at  the  right).  The 
parts  showu  above  not  in- 
cluded in  the  side  view  of  the 
locomotive,  preceding  this, 
are  as  follows:  51  Eccentrics. 

53  Reversing  gear  si)ring  case. 

54  Flues.  55  Crown-bar.  56 
Crown-sheet.  57  Inside  shell 
of  fire  box.  58  Outside  shell 
of  fire  box.  59  Dome  castings. 
60  Grate.  61  Mud  ring.  62 
Journal  box.  63  Spring  hang- 
er to  journal  box.  64  Driving 
wheel  castings.  65  Driving 
wheel  tire. 


68 


RAIL  WA  Y   EQUIPMENT. 


Side  View  of  American  Locomotive  Truck,  sup- 
porting forward  end  of  locomotive. 


power,  it  is  apparent,  must  be  proportionate« 
This,  however,  depends  upon  the  steam  produc- 
ing quality  of  the 
boiler.*  The 
steam  generat- 
ing capacity  of 
a  boiler  depends, 
a,  upon  the  size 
of  the  grate  and 
fire  box,  b,  upon 
the  amount  of  heating  surface  provided,  and,  c, 
the  draught  produced  by  the  blast  or  exhaust 
steam.  In  the  case  of  stationary  engines  the 
great  area  of  the  fire  box  and  the  facility  (or 
draught)  afforded  by  a  high  chimney  cheapen 
and  amplify  the  production  of  steam.  In  the 
case  of  a  locomotive  the  fire  box  is  restricted, 
while  the  height  of  the  smokestack  is  inade- 
quate. How  then  is  it  possible  to  produce  suffi- 
cient heat  (consume  sufficient  fuel  effectively)  to 
generate  the  quantity  of  steam  required;  to 
maintain  the  water  in  the  boiler  at  the  desired 
temperature;  to  maintain,  in  fact,  a  steam  press- 
ure of,  say,  one  hundred  and  sixty  pounds  to  the 
square  inch?  It  is  through  enforced  consump- 
tion of  fuel — by  forcing  the  fire,  so  to  speak. 
This  is  accomplished,  in  the  main,  by  the  draught 
occasioned  by  the  escaping  steam  through  the 
exhaust  pipe  into  the  smokestack.  It  is  further 
assisted  by  dampers  at  each  end  of  the  ash  pan 

*  The  formulas  or  rules  governing  these  relations  are  found 
in  the  working  tables  used  by  constructors  of  locomotives. 


DESCRIPTION  OF  LOCOMOTIVE. 


69 


(which  latter  is  placed  immediately  below  the 
fire  box)  to  afford  the  requisite  amount  of  air, 
and  secure  through  the  intervention  of  such 
dampers  a  due  consumption  of  the  gases  and  car- 
bon. The  escaping  steam  through  the  smoke- 
stack serves  to  create  a  partial  vacuum  which, 
the  heat  from  the  fire  box  hastening  to  fill, 
creates  in  turn  a  strong  draught  and  in  so  doing 
hastens    the  ignition   and  consumption  of   the 


Evolution  of  the  Coal  Burner  Smokestack. 


fuel.  Some  engines  are  provided  with  an  appli- 
ance or  lever  which  controls,  from  the  cab,  the 
intensity  of  the  blast  caused  by  the  exhaust 
steam.  In  other  ways,  also,  free  steam  from  the 
boiler  may,  when  necessary,  be  discharged 
through  an  auxiliary  blast  pipe  into  the  chim- 
ney; but,  while  a  strong  draught  is  secured  by 
exhausting  steam  into  the  smokestack,  a  seri- 
ous difficulty  is  experienced,  in  the  use  of  soft 
coal  especially,  in  supplying  the  requisite  air  to 


70  RAILWAY  EQUIPMENT. 

bhe  fire  box.  This  could  be  drawn  wholly  from 
beneath  were  it  not  for  the  impossibility  of  thus 
securing  due  consumption  of  the  carbon  gener- 
ated by  the  heat  as  it  escapes  through  the  un- 
burned  fuel  on  top  of  the  fire.  To  obviate  this  a 
second  damper  is  placed  higher  up  in  the  fire 
box,  usually  in  the  fire  door.  The  consumption 
of  fuel  is  further  heightened  by  careful,  I  may 
say  scientific,  firing.  As  a  rule,  we  may  assume, 
when  we  see  great  volumes  of  black  smoke  issu- 
ing from  the  smokestack  of  a  locomotive,  that 
care  is  not  being  exercised  in  firing  or  that  the 
engine  is  being  overworked.  To  obviate  the 
smoke  annoyance  (for  it  is  an  annoyance  to  man- 
kind under  all  conditions)  many  forms  of  smoke 
burners  have  been  introduced,  both  for  locomo- 
tives and  stationary  engines.  The  need  for  them, 
however,  and  the  added  cost  they  entail,  would 
not  be  necessary  if  proper  care  were  exercised  in 
firing. 

In  working,  the  fire  is  regulated  from  the  cab 
of  the  locomotive  by  levers  attached  to  the  ash- 
pan  dampers.  Thus  the  quantity  of  air  pass- 
ing through  the  fuel  is  controlled.  The  door 
through  which  the  fuel  is  conveyed  to  the  fire 
box  is  also  made  use  of  to  regulate  the  quantity 
of  air. 

The  supply  of  steam  required  from  a  locomo- 
tive boiler  is  more  irregular  than  from  any  other 
kind  of  a  boiler.  Thus,  when  a  train  is  ascend- 
ing a  heavy  grade  the  fire  musL  be  urged  to  its 
greatest  intensity.     When   the    top  is  reached 


DESCRIPTION  OF  LOCOMOTIVE.  71 

the  demand  measurably  ceases  and  steam  is 
generated  less  rapidl3\  The  irregiilaritj^  how- 
ever, is  not  so  great  in  a  large  boiler  as  in  a 
small  one.  The  former  may  also  be  more  eco- 
nomically used. 

In  order  to  create  the  required  draught,  when 
rapid  combustion  is  required,  in  a  small  boiler, 
the  exhaust  nozzles  must  be  contracted.  By 
this  means  the  back  pressure  on  the  pistons  is 
increased  and,  if  the  blast  becomes  very  violent, 
more  or  less  unconsumed  coal  is  carried  through 
the  flues  and  escapes  through  the  smoke  stack. 
In  addition  to  this  waste,  more  or  less  of  the 
gases  in  the  fire  box  escape,  there  not  being 
sufficient  time  for  their  combustion.  Moreover, 
a  boiler  so  small  that  it  must  be  worked  to  its 
maximum  at  all  times  cannot  afford  a  reserve 
of  water  at  a  high  temperature  which  may  be 
brought  into  use  when  necessity  requires.  On 
the  other  hand,  a  boiler  of  greater  capacity  can 
store  heat  for  such  use  when  not  working  to  its 
maximum  capacity. 

The  heating  surface  of  a  locomotive  is  made 
up  of  the  sides  of  the  fire  box,  the  flue  sheet, 
crown  sheet,  and  tubes  or  flues  placed  within  the 
boiler.  The  quantity  of  water  converted  into 
steam  by  one  pound  of  coal  depends  upon  the 
quality  of  the  coal  used  and  the  construction  of 
the  locomotive  boiler.  The  average  performance 
of  an  ordinary  locomotive  varies  from  ^\q  to 
seven  pounds  of  water  to  one  pound  of  coal. 
^Locomotive  boilers  consume  in  the  neighborhood 


72  MAILWAY  EQUIPMEXT. 

of  twenty-five  hundred  pounds  of  coal  per  hour, 
according  to  tlie  work  performed.  The  maximum 
amount  of  combustion  per  hour  is,  approximately, 
one  hundred  and  twenty-five  pounds  of  coal  to 
each  square  foot  of  grate  surface.  This  requires 
twenty  square  feet  of  grate  surface  to  burn 
twentj^-five  hundred  pounds  per  hour.  For  each 
square  foot  of  grate  surface  from  fifty  to  seventy- 
five  square  feet  of  heating  surface  are  necessary. 
Quality  of  fuel,  however,  has  much  to  do  in  gov- 
erning the  proportion  of  the  heating  surface  to 
the  grate  surface.  Wood  and  good  bituminous 
coal  do  not  require  so  large  a  grate  as  anthracite 
coal  or  poor  fuel. 

The  limited  surface  of  water  possible  to  be 
heated  directly  by  the  fire  box  is  overcome  by 
the  flues  in  the  boiler  of  the  locomotive.  The 
draught  occasioned  by  the  steam  blast  through 
the  smoke-stack  draws  the  flames  and  generated 
heat  into  the  flues  and,  as  these  flues  are  envel- 
oped in  water,  the  latter  quickly  becomes  heated. 
This  is,  as  is  well  known,  the  simple  explanation 
of  the  generation  of  steam  in  the  locomotive 
boiler.  As  it  increases  in  force  it  finds  its  way 
(when  the  throttle  is  opened)  into  the  cylinders 
and  thus  affords  the  power  that,  through  the 
pistons,  propels  the  machine  on  its  way.  The 
heating  surface  of  the  tubes,  or  flues,  varies,  of 
course,  on  different  engines  according  to  the  size 
of  the  boiler  and  the  power  required.  A  large 
locomotive  may  have  tubes  with  a  heating  sur- 
face of  eighteen  hundred  square  feet  which,  with 


DESCRIPTIOX  OF  LOCOMOTIVE.  73 

the  heating  surface  of  the  fire  box  amounting  to, 
say,  two  hundred  feet,  will  afford  a  total  heating 
surface  of  two  thousand  square  feet.  The 
approximate  evaporation  of  such  a  boiler  may 
be  estimated  at  thirty-five  hundred  gallons  of 
water  per  hour,  or,  say,  four  hundred  and  ninety 
cubic  feet. 

A  small  tube  of  a  given  length  affords  a  greater 
amount  of  heating  surface  in  proportion  to  the 
space  it  occupies  than  a  large  one,  and  as  the 
size  and  weight  of  the  locomotive  boiler  are 
necessarily  limited  and  the  required  amount  of 
heating  surface  must  be  obtained  within  that 
space,  small  tubes  are  employed.  However,  be- 
cause of  their  liability  to  become  stopped  up  with 
particles  of  unconsumed  fuel  or  cinders,  a  tube  of 
less  than  two  inches  diameter  is  not  thought  to 
give  the  best  results.  Moreover,  small  tubes  may 
be  made  of  thinner  metal  than  large  ones,  and  by 
their  use  the  heat  from  inside  is  thus  more  rap- 
idly conducted  to  the  water  in  the  boiler  than 
when  heavier  metal  is  used.  This,  when  rapid 
combustion  is  taking  place,  is,  as  may  be  sup- 
posed, an  important  advantage. 

The  number  of  tubes  in  a  boiler  is  regulated 
with  a  view  to  affording  the  water  sufficient  space 
in  which  to  circulate  freely  and  the  steam  to 
escape.  In  this  last  connection  it  must  be  borne 
in  mind  that  the  rising  steam  produces  a  certain 
disturbance  (ebullition)  of  the  water,  which,  if 
adequate  space  is  not  provided,  will  result  in  parti- 
cles of  water  being  raised  and  .carried  with  the 


74  RAILWAY  EQUIPMENT. 

steam  into  the  cylinders,  producing  what  is  tech- 
nically called  "  priming."  Aside  from  the  loss 
of  power  and  inconvenience  this  engenders,  the 
pistons,  cylinders  and  cylinder  heads  are  there- 
by endangered  through  the  undue  strain  thus 
brought  to  bear. 

The  boilers  of  locomotives  were  formerly  made 
of  wrought  iron,  but  soft  steel  has,  to  a  great 
extent,  taken  its  place.  The  latter  is  of  more 
uniform  quality  than  iron,  and  is  thought  to 
be  better  adapted  to  resisting  the  great  strain 
upon  it.  Material  used  for  boiler  plate  must  be 
tough,  ductile  and  tenacious,  and  of  close  and 
uniform  texture,  in  order  to  satisfactorily  meet 
the  requirements  of  the  situation.  The  plates  of 
the  boiler  are  fastened  together  with  rivets  which 
are  inserted  when  red-hot  into  holes  in  the  plates. 
When  the  rivets  cool  they  contract  and,  in  doing 
so,  draAv  the  plates  more  closely  together.  The 
seams  are  then  tightened  by  calking.  As  the 
seams  are  manifestly  the  weakest  portion  of  the 
boiler  plate,  it  is  necessarj^  that  care  should  be 
exercised  to  make  them  as  strong  as  possible. 

The  boiler  and  other  steam  chambers  of  the 
locomotive  are  overlaid  with  wood  or  some  plas- 
tic material  which  hardens  and  which  is  also,  so 
far  as  possible,  a  non-conductor  of  heat,  so  as  to 
prevent  its  loss  by  radiation.  This  covering  is 
more  or  less  commonly  known  as  boiler  lagging. 
It  is  covered  with  Russia  iron  or  sheet  steel  in 
order  to  hold  it  in  place  and  to  present  a  better 
appearance  as  well. 


DE SCRIP  TIOX  OF  LO  COMO  TI VE.  75 

The  cylindrical  part  of  the  boiler  containing 
the  water  (through  which  the  flues  from  the  fire- 
box pass)  is  required  to  be  of  sufficient  strength  to 
withstand  the  lateral  and  end  strain.  The  forma- 
tion of  the  boiler  being  a  complete  cylinder  ren- 
ders the  former  comparatively  easy.  The  other 
is  more  difficult.  The  strain  at  the  forward  end 
of  the  boiler  is  overcome,  in  a  measure,  by  the  aid 
of  the  tubes  and  partly  by  longitudinal  stay- 
rods.  In  connection  with  the  fire  box  so  many 
flat  surfaces  are  presented  that  it  is  necessary  to 
increase  the  bracing  to  make  up  for  the  lack  of 
strength  due  thereto.  This  is  done  by  means 
of  stay-bolts  passing  through  from  the  outer  to 
the  inside  sheet  and  riveted  over  on  both  ends. 
The  crown -sheet,  of  the  old  crown-bar  type,  is 
secured  by  crown-bars  running  across  the  entire 
wddth  of  the  fire  box,  and  the  crown-sheet  is  sup- 
ported by  bolts  running  from  the  bottom  of  the 
crowai-sheet  to  the  top  of  the  crown-bar  and 
secured  by  bolts  or  rivets;  the  crown-bars  are 
also  re-inforced  by  braces  which  are  secured 
to  the  dome  and  w^agon-top  of  the  boiler.  The 
radial  stay  type  of  fire  box  is  circular  in  form 
and  is  secured  by  stay-bolts.  The  type  of  fire- 
box boiler  known  as  the  ''  Belpaire "  is  similar 
to  the  crown-bar  fire  box,  with  the  exterior 
sheets  flattened,  the  sides  conforming  to  the 
shape  of  the  crown-sheet  of  the  fire  box  and 
secured  by  stay-bolts. 

The  practices  by  wdiich  the  safety  of  the  boiler 
is  made  secure  are  not  uniform,  because  of  the 


76  RAILWAY  EQUIPMENT. 

shape  of  the  fire  box,  and  for  other  reasons. 
These  practices  are  not,  therefore,  susceptible  of 
complete  elucidation  here.  Moreover,  the  obscure 
nature  of  the  obstacles  to  be  overcome  prevents 
the  matter  being  clearly  understood,  except  by 
the  use  of  models  or  practical  examination  of  the 
machine  itself. 

In  practical  w^orking  the  boiler  of  a  locomotive 
must  contain  sufficient  water  to  cover  every  part 
of  the  metal  exposed  to  the  heat  in  and  from  the 
fire  box,  otherwise  it  will  be  quickly  weakened 
and  ruined  through  over-heating.  It  is  practi- 
cable to  keep  the  boiler  filled  with  water  to  a 
height  of  six  or  eight  inches  above  the  top  of  the 
crown-sheet  (i.  e.,  the  roof  of  the  fire  box).  A 
steam  space  is  provided  in  some  designs  above 
the  water  line  by  elevating  the  outer  shell  of  the 
boiler  over  the  fire  box.  A  cylindrical  dome  pro- 
jects from  the  top  of  the  boiler,  and  it  is  from 
this  reservoir  that  the  steam  is  precipitated 
through  the  dry  steam  pipe  into  the  cylinder. 
The  reason  the  steam  is  first  collected  in  this 
reservoir  instead  of  being  drawn  directly  from 
the  space  above  the  water,  before  described,  is 
because  dry  steam  is  more  effective  than  wet 
steam  and,  as  dry  steam  rises  above  wet  steam, 
the  dome  permits  their  separation. 

Water  is  supplied  to  the  boiler,  to  take  the 
place  of  that  which  has  been  converted  into 
steam,  by  an  injector.  This  is  a  device  or  force 
pump  for  supplying  the  boiler  with  water 
without  the   intervention   of  the   machinery  of 


DESCRIPTION  OF  LOCOMOTIVE.  11 

the  locomotive  farther  than  the  introduction 
of  a  jet  of  steam  from  the  boiler  into  the  in- 
jector. The  jet  of  steam  is  brought  into  contact 
with  a  supply  of  water  from  the  tender  and 
the  water  is  by  this  means  forced  along  with  the 
condensed  steam  into  the  boiler.  While  simple 
in  operation,  the  injector  never  ceases  to  excite 
the  admiration  of  those  who  observe  its  working. 
It  is  to  the  unscientific  mind  very  much  like  a 
man  raising  himself  from  the  ground  by  his  boot 
straps.    Its  working  is,  however,  in  accordance 


Side  View  of  an  Injector. 

with  well  known  laws.  (See  "Engineers'  and 
Firemen's  Manual,"  Vol.  XII.)  The  injector 
is  usually  placed  inside  the  cab,  where  it 
will  be  under  the  immediate  eye  of  the 
engineer.  I  have  described  the  injector  in 
connection  with  the  supplying  of  the  boiler  with 
water  before  referring  to  any  other  method  for 
accomplishing  this  end,  because  it  is  superior  to 
all  others.  It  is  in  very  general  use.  However, 
as  a  precautionary  measure,  some  locomotives 
are  still  supplied  with  the  diminutive  apparatus 
known  as  a  donkey  engine,  operated  by  steam 


78 


RAILWAy  EQUIPMENT. 


from  the  engine,  by  which  the  engineer  may  at 
will  (in  the  event  the  injector  should  not  work) 
force  the  water  from  the  tank  into  the  boiler. 


O/EffFtOlV 


Section  of  an  Injector.— Operation:  Valve  ] 9  is  opened  by  means  of  lover  22. 
which  admits  water  into  chamber  41.  Valve  13  is  then  opened  by  means  o^ 
lever  17,  which  admits  steam  into  tube  ISa,  escaping  into  overdow,  thus  cre- 
ating a  partial  vacuum  in  chamber  41  by  means  of  communication,  through 
chamber  42,  with  valve  34  open,  drawing  water  from  tank  into  chamber  41, 
nozzle  26,  and  escaping  at  overflow.  When  water  thus  appears,  valve  8  is 
opened  by  means  of  lever  10,  admitting  steam  into  nozzles  25,  26,  27  and  28, 
forcing  check  valve  31  open  and  forcing  the  water  alreadv  in  chamber  41  into 
delivery  pipe,  thus  supplying  the  boiler.  Water  is  regulated  by  valve  19.  To 
shut  the  injector  off,  valve  8  Is  closed. 

1  Body  (back  part).  2  Body  (front  part).  3  Body  screw.  4  Yoke.  5  Yoke 
gland.  6  Yoke  packing  nut.  7  Yoke  lock  nut.  8  Steam  valve  disc  and  nut. 
9  Steam  valve  spindle.  10  Steam  valve  handle.  11  Steam  valve  rubber  handle. 
12  Steam  valve  top  nut.  13  Jet  valve  disc  and  nut.  14  Jet  valve  spindle. 
15  Jet  valve  bonnet  and  nut.  16  Jet  valve  gland.  17  Jet  valve  lever  handle. 
18  Jet  valve  top  nut.  18a  Jet  tube.  18b  Lifting  nozzle.  10  Water  valve. 
19a  Eccentric  spindle.  80  Water  valve  bonnet.  23  Water  valve  lever  handle. 
25  Steam  nozzle.  26  Intermediate  nozzle.  27  Condensing  nozzle.  28  Delivery 
nozzle.  30  Line  check.  31  Line  check  valve.  32  Stop  ring.  33  Overflow 
nozzle.  33a  Overflow  chamber  with  nut.  34  Heater  cock  check.  35  Heater 
cock  bonnet  and  nut.  36  Heater  cock  spindle.  37  Heater  cock  T  handle. 
38  Coupling  nut— steam  end.  39  Coupling  nut— water  end.  40  Coupling  nut 
— delivery  end.  41  Water  chamber.  42  Vacuum  chamber.  38a  Tail  piece- 
steam  end.    39a  Tail  piece— water  end.    40a  Tail  piece— delivery  end. 

Note. — The  principle  of  the  injector  is  fully  described  and 
illustrated  in  Vol.  XII. 


DESCRIPTION  OF  LOCOMOTIVE. 


79 


The  boiler  may 
also  be  supplied 
with  water  by 
a  force  p  u  m  p 
operated  by  a 
pluDger  con- 
nected to  the 
cross  head  of 
the  locomotive, 
as  shown  by  the 
illustration. 
Still  other  de- 
vices are  known 
for  supplying  the 


>5ec//on 


Force  Pump.— Water  is  drawn  from  the  tank 
into  the  cylinder  through  a  valve  which  closes 
immediately  when  the  motion  of  the  plunger  is 
reversed;  at  the  same  time  another  valve  is 
opened  through  which  the  water  is  forced  into 
the  boiler. 

boiler  with  water,  but  as  they 
are  now  rarely,  if 
ever,  used,  an  ex- 
planation of  them 
here  is  unneces- 
sary. A  check 
valve  is  usually 
placed  at  the  end 
of  the  pipe  where 
the  water  enters 
the  boiler.  Its 
to   prevent   a  ])ack 


£/ey<3//'on. 


P/en. 

Check  Valve,  for  prevent- 
ing water  from  returning. 


object  is  10  prevent  a 
flow  of  w^ater  from  the  boiler, 
the  valve  being  closed  auto- 
matically by  the  water  pres- 
sure in  the  boiler. 

The  boiler  is  fed  and  the  sup- 
ply regulated  according  to  the 
amount  of  work  being  done  by 


80  RAIL^yAY   EQUIPMENT. 

the  engine.  If  the  water  m  the  boiler  is  too  high, 
the  steam  space  is  thereby  diminished  and  more 
or  less  water  is  carried  into  the  cylinders  with  the 
steam.  The  strain  thus  produced  by  the  move- 
ment of  the  piston  is  liable  to  break  the  cylinder. 
If  the  water  is  too  low,  on  the  other  hand,  the 
the  crown-plate,  or  sheet,  is  in  danger  of  becom- 
ing over-heated  and  explosion  is  liable  to  result. 
The  height  of  the  water  in  the  boiler  is  ascer- 
tained by  the  use  of  gauge  cocks  and  a  glass 
water  gauge.  The  former,  usually  three  or  more 
in  number,  are  placed  at  the  rear  end  of  the 
boiler  three  or  four  inches  apart.  The  low^er 
one  should  be  placed  two  and  one-half  inches 
above  the  crown -sheet.  The  upper  one  should 
be  slightly  above  the  highest  point  at  which 
water  is  to  be  carried,  which,  it  is  proper  to  say, 
is  determined  by  the  diameter  of  the  boiler.  If 
the  water  is  at  the  proper  height,  steam  will  be 
discharged  from  the  upper  cock  when  open  and 
water  from  the  lower  one.  Should  the  upper 
cock  discharge  water  for  any  length  of  time,  it 
indicates  there  is  too  much  water  in  the  boiler. 
On  the  other  hand,  if  steam  is  discharged  from 
the  lower  cock,  it  is  at  once  apparent  that 
there  is  not  enough  water  in  the  boiler.  The 
w^ater  gauge  is  a  steam  tight  glass  tube  from 
twelve  to  fifteen  inches  in  length,  communi- 
cating by  means  of  brass  elbows  with  the  steam 
in  the  boiler  at  the  top  and  the  water  in  the 
boiler  at  the  bottom.  Each  elbow  contains  a 
valve  w^orked  by  a  handle  and  screw.    When 


DESCRIPTIOX  OF  LOCOMOTIVE. 


81 


both  valves  are  opened,  steam  rushes  into  the 
tube  at  the  top  and  water  at  the  bottom,  and  the 
height  of  the  water  in  the  tube  will  be  on  a  level 
with  the  surface  of  the  water  in  the  boiler. 
What  are  very  generally  knowm  as  safety  plugs 
are  used  for  guarding  against 
the  danger  arising  from  not  hav- 
ing enough  water  in  the  boiler. 
These  plugs  are  hollow  and  made 
of  brass  or  cast  iron,  and  filled 
with  some  metal  that  will  melt 
at  a  low  degree  of  heat.  They 
are  placed  in  the  highest  part  of 
the  crown  sheet.  In  case  the 
should  become  over-heated,  the 
plugs   melts   and   runs   out,  thus 


Section  of  Boiler 
Fuse  Plug. 


crown    sheet 

metal   in   the 

creating  openings  by  which  the  pressure  in  the 

boiler  is   relieved    and   warning   given    by   the 

escaping  steam. 

An  important  appliance  of  the  locomotive  is 
the  safety-valve,  designed  to  prevent  the  steam 
pressure  in  the  boiler  from  exceeding  a  certain 
limit.  There  is  a  tradition  in  America  that  a 
captain  on  a  Mississippi  river  steamer,  who  was 
racing  with  the  boat  of  a  rival  line,  sat  on  the 
safety-valve  of  his  engine  in  order  that  no  particle 
of  the  steam  should  escape.  This  is  cited  as  the 
acme  of  daring  and  foolhardiness.  Two  valves 
with  w^hich  the  device  is  provided  are  placed  in 
the  top  of  the  dome,  so  that  in  case  one  should 
get  out  of  order  the  other  may  operate.  They  are 
so  constructed   that  whenever  the   \3ressure   of 

6    Vol.  1 


82 


RAIL  ^VA  r   EQ  UIPMENT. 


Section  of 
Safety-Yalve. 


steam  exceeds  the  limit  which  the  boiler  is  sup- 
posed to  be  able  to  safel}^  bear,  the  valve  opens 
automatically  and  the  steam  is  afforded  a  means 
of  escape.  The  noise  of  the  steam 
rushing  through  the  safety-valve  is 
lessened  by  dividing  or  breaking  up 
the  current  before  it  emerges  into  the 
air.  With  the  modern  device  for  using 
steam  in  connection  with  the  inject- 
or, already  described,  surplus  steam 
which  would  otherwise  escape  through 
the  safetj^-valve  and  be  wasted  is,  in 
a  measure,  utilized  by  the  engineer. 
There  are  various  forms  or  patterns 
for  the  safety-valve.  No  device  has 
received  greater  attention  than  this; 
yet,  with  all  the  thought  given  to  the  matter,  it 
is  still  not  satisfactory.  A  form  very  common 
in  America  is  represented  in  the  accompanying 
illustration. 

The  steam  gauge  is  another  important  device. 
It  is  an  instrument  by  which  the  number  of 
pounds  of  steam  pressure  per  square  inch  is  indi- 
cated by  an  index  or  pointer  on  a  dial.* 

We  often  speak  of  a  locomo- 
tive as  an  engine.  This  is  prop- 
er in  one  sense,  and  improper 
in  another.  The  locomotive  is 
propelled  by  two  engines  fed 
from  a  common  boiler.  The 
steam  cylinders  operating 

Interior  of  steam  Gauge.        thcSC    CngiueS  Vary  iu   slze.       A 

*The  automatic  lubricator  has  become  an  essential  part  rl 
locomotives,  and  is  full^'  illustrated  and  described  in  Vol.  Xll 


DESCRIPTION  OF  LOCOMOTIVE. 


83 


Exterior  of  Steam  Gauge. 


form  very  common  in  America 
has  a  bore  of  eighteen  inches 
diameter,  and  a  stroke  of  the 
piston  of  twenty-four  inches. 
By  the  stroke  of  the  piston  is 
meant  the  distance  it  moves 
in  the  cylinder.  This  distance 
is  twice  the  length  of  the 
crank,  measured  from  the  cen- 
ters of  the  shaft  and  crank-pin.  Absolute  accu- 
racy is  required  to  be  observed  in  boring  the 
cylinder.  Briefly  summarized,  the  operation  of 
the  engine  is  as 
follows:  The  en- 
gineer, by  the  man- 
ipulation  of  the 
throttle  lever, 
opens  or  closes  the 
valve  in  the  dome 
of  the  boiler.  Thus 
steam  is  admitted 
or  shut  off  from 
the  cylinders. 
On  pulling  open 
the  t  h  r  o  t- 
tlethe  steam 
finds  its  way 
from  the 
steam-chest  into 
the  cylinder 
through  a  passage 
(or  port)  devised  for  that  purpose.     The  arrange- 


Section  showing  action  of  steam  in  single  ex- 
pansion cylinder.  Piston  shown  in  section. 


84 


RAIL  ^yA  Y    EQ UIPMENT. 


ment  of  the  valve  and  its  movements  are  such 
that  the  ports  through  wliich  steam  is  admit- 
ted into  the  cj^linder  are,  alternately,  each  open 
during  onl}^  a  portion  of  the  stroke  of  the  piston. 
The  steam  enters  the  cylinder  at  one  end,  and  in 
doing  so  forces  the  piston  (which  moves  back 
and  forth  in  the  cylinder)  to  its  opposite  extrem- 
ity. After  the  piston  has  made  a  part  of  its  dis- 
tance (stroke)  the  port  through  which  steam  is 
passing  into  the  cylinder  closes  without  allowing 
the  steam  thus  admitted  to  escape  until  the  pis- 
ton has  nearly  reached  the  end  of  its  journey.  In 

operation,  the  expansive 
action  of  the  steam  ad- 
mitted to  the  cylinder 
exerts  a  diminishing  pres- 
sure on  the  piston  until 
the  exhaust  port  is 
opened.  When  the  stroke 
is  completed  the  steam 
escapes  through  the  ex- 
haust port  into  the  air. 
At  the  instant  the  steam 
ceases  to  act  (i.  e.,  at  the 
completion  of  the  stroke) 
a  new  supply  is  admitted  at  the  other  end  of  the 
cylinder,  thus  forcing  the  piston  back  to  the 
opposite  extremity,  when  the  exhaust  steam 
escapes,  as  before.  It  is  this  constant  action  and 
re-action  of  the  piston  within  the  cylinder  that 
transmits  power  to  the  piston  rod  and  thence  to 
the  coupling  rod,  which  in  turn  is  attached  to  the 


End  View  of  Cylinder  (cylinder 
head  removed)  with  the  steam 
chest  shown  in  section  at  "a"  "a" 
of  preceding  illustration. 


DESCRIPTION  OF  LOCOMOTIVE.  85 

crank  pin  or  (if  it  is  an  inside-cylinder  engine)  to 
the  crank  shaft,  thus  causing  the  driving  wheels 
to  revolve. 

The  action  of  the  steam  within  the  cylinder 
is  very  simple.  It  is,  however,  the  key  to  the 
whole  situation.  In  regard  to  the  mechanism 
of  the  cylinders,  accurate  adjustment  of  the 
valves  for  admitting  the  steam  and  allowing  it 
to  escape,  and  the  due  proportion  of  the  parts, 
are  absolutely  essential  to  the  smooth  and 
economical  working  of  the  machine.  The  piston 
must  be  steam  tight.  It  is  prevented  from  leak- 
ing at  the  sides  by  metal  packing.  The  pressure 
of  the  piston  against  the  sides  of  the  cylinder 
is  equal  to  the  pressure  of  the  steam  within 
the  cylinder.  The  orifice  through  which  the 
piston  rod  works  in  the  end  of  the  cylinder  is 
also  made  steam  tight  by  the  use  of  packing. 
Speaking  on  this  subject,  an  authority  on  such 
matters  says:  "The  piston  is  made  steam  tight 
against  the  side  of  the  cylinder  by  elastic  metal- 
lic packing.  Many  kinds  of  metallic  pistons  are 
in  use,  but  I  know  of  none  so  good,  for  locomotive 
purposes,  as  that  simple  one  invented  by  Mr. 
Ramsbottom,  which  bears  his  name,  and  which 
consists  merely  of  a  few  grooves  (three  com- 
monly) turned  in  the  piston  body,  into  which  are 
sprung  pieces  of  D-shaped  wire  (for  the  rings  are 
little  more)  which  press  outward  against  the 
interior  of  the  cylinder,  and  bear  upon  it  with 
steam-tight  contact.  It  is,  of  course,  desirable 
that  while  the  piston  should  move  steam-tight  in 


86  RAILWAY   EQUIPMENT. 

the  cylinder,  it  should  also  move  with  the  least 
possible  friction.  ...  In  order  that  a  piston 
may  be  safe  against  leakage,  it  is  necessary  that 
the  ring  should  bear  upon  the  cylinder  with  a 
pressure  at  least  equal  to  that  of  the  maximum 
force  of  steam  within  the  cylinder,  because  if 
this  condition  be  departed  from,  and  if  steam 
leak  in  at  any  part  between  the  surface  of  the 
ring  and  the  interior  of  the  cylinder,  it  will  press 
upon  the  ring,  drive  it  backward,  and  will  pass 
on;  but  this  pressure  is  a  pressure  per  inch  of 
surface,  therefore  the  less  surface  there  is  in  con- 
tact, the  less  will  be  the  actual  pressure,  and  the 
less,  therefore,  will  be  the  actual  friction;  obvi- 
ously, for  these  reasons,  it  is  desirable  to  dimin- 
ish the  width  of  the  bearing  surface  of  the  rings 
as  much  as  possible  in  practice,  and  that  it  is 
which  is  done  in  the  Ramsbottom  piston.  More- 
over, the  use  of  such  a  piston  diminishes  the 
wear  upon  the  cylinder,  Avhile  the  wear  of  the 
rings  is  unimportant,  as  although  they  may  re- 
quire frequent  renewal,  say  every  six  months, 
their  total  cost,  even  in  a  large  locomotive,  is 
only  a  few  shillings."* 

Continuing  our  description,  the  end  of  the  pis- 
ton rod  farthest  from  the  cylinder  is  attached  to 
a  square  piece  of  metal  or  cross  head  which 
works  back  and  forth  in  a  rigid  horizontal  frame 
running  parallel  with  the  piston  rod.  In  many 
cases  the  frame  is  on  the  side  of  the  piston  rod, 
but  sometimes  above  it.    This  frame  is  called  a 

*  Mr.  Joliu  Wolfe  Barry. 


DESCRIPTION  OF  LOCOMOTIVE. 


— '  ^o(/^  ^<3r  Cross  '/?e<3d.- 


guide  bar.  Its  pur- 
pose is  to  prevent 
the  connecting  rod, 
in  the  rotary  mo- 
tion given  it  by  the 
crank  pin,  from  de- 
flecting the  piston 
rod  from  the  exact 
angle  at  which  it 
enters  and  traverses 
the  cylinder.  In 
some  instances    the 

connecting  rods  of  the  locomotive  are  attached  to 
the  crank  shaft  between  the  driving  wheels.  In 
such  cases  the  cylinders  are  also  placed  within  the 
frame  of  the  locomotive,  i.-e.,  between  the  wheels. 
These  are  called  inside  cylinders.  When  the  con- 
necting rods  are  attached  outside  of  the  driving 
wheels  to  the  crank  pin,  the  cylinders  are  called 
outside  cylinders.  Both  forms  have  adherents, 
but  the  judgment  of  constructors  and  operators 
inclines  more  and  more  to  the  outside  cylinder. 
The  inside  form  has  the  merit  of  a  shorter  steam 
passage  and  greater  facility  in  securing  the  cylin- 
der and  keeping  it  heated;  also  in  more  secure 
fastenings  for  the  guide  frame,  and  avoidance  of 
interference  with  the  bars  which  couple  the  driv- 
ers together.  Other  advantages  might  be  named, 
but  the  crowded  space  within  which  the  cylin- 
ders with  their  appurtenances  must  be  ]3laced, 
and  the  increased  cost  of  constructing  axles 
with  the    crank   forgings,   together  with   other 


88 


RAILWAY  EQUIPMENT. 


objections,  more  than  offset  the  advantages  of  the 
inside  cylinder.  In  the  case  of  outside  cj^linders 
the  natural  difficulties  which  attend  the  coupling 
of  the  drivers  are  increased  by  the  necessity  of 
attaching  the  connecting  rod  to  the  outside  face 
of  the  wheel.  On  the  other  hand,  the  slight  re- 
sistance (friction)  attending  its  working  compared 
with  the  considerable  resistance  of  the  connecting 
rod  when  fastened  to  the  axle  between  the  drivers 
more  than  offsets  any  objections.  By  placing  the 
cylinder  outside,  necessary  space  is  left  beneath 
the  boiler  for  the  gearings.  Outside  cylinders 
must,  per  contra,  be  set  on  brackets  where  they 
can  not  be  kept  hot.  Moreover,  the  steam  must 
travel  a  long  passage,  relatively,  to  reach  them. 
These  are  serious  objections.  However,  notwith- 
standing these  objections  and  still  others  which 
might  be  named,  the  practice  of  putting  the 
cylinders  outside  the  wheels  and  frames  is  very 

general  in  America.  In 
some  parts  of  Europe,  and 
especially  in  England,  the 
inside  cylinder  is  more 
favorably  regarded. 

The  steam  pressure  in  the 
cylinder  may  be  known  at 
the  various  points  of  the 
stroke  of  the  piston  by  the 
use  of  an  indicator  designed 
especially  for  that  purpose. 
In  its  practical  working  the  steam  acts  upon  a 
piston,  upon  which  rests  a  spiral  spring,  which  is 


«<i 


Section  of  Indicator. 


DESCRIPTION  OF  LOCOMOTIVE.  89 

graduated  to  suit  the  pressure  under  which  the 
engine  is  working.  The  piston  is  coupled  to  the 
pencil  arm  b}^  means  of  a  parallel  motion,  and 
the  pressure  in  the  cylinder  is  recorded  upon  a 
card  which  has  been  placed  around  the  drum  of 
the  indicator  referred  to  above. 

As  the  fixtures  of  the  locomotive  have  grown 
in  number  and  the  size  of  the  cylinders  has 
increased,  rearrangements  of  the  cylinders  and 
valves  have  from  time  to  time  been  found 
necessary.  This  has,  perhaps,  been  more  true 
of  inside  than  outside  cylinder  engines,  there 
being  in  the  latter  case  abundant  space.  As 
regards  the  construction  of  the  cylinder,  there 
is  practically  no  difference  between  the  inside 
and  the  outside  forms.  Reference  has  already 
been  made  to  the  packing  used  in  connection 
wath  the  cylinder,  including  that  designed  to 
prevent  the  escape  of  steam  through  the  open- 
ing through  which  the  piston  rod  works.  The 
head  of  the  cylinder  (i.  e.,  the  forward  end),  is 
fastened  on  with  bolts  so  it  may  be  easily  re- 
moved whenever  necessary  to  remove  the  piston, 
or  for  any  other  reason. 

A  locomotive  is  enabled  to  run  either  back- 
ward or  forward  by  having  two  contrary  eccen- 
trics for  each  cylinder;  one  is  fastened  to  the 
shaft  in  such  a  position  as  to  move  the  valve  so 
the  engine  will  run  forward;  the  other  is  set  so 
that  the  engine  will  move  backward.  These 
eccentrics  are  attached  to  the  opposite  ends  of  a 
link  by  means  of  eccentric  straps  and  rods.    The 


90 


RAILWAY  EQUIPMENT. 


purpose  of  this  link  is  to  change  the  direction  of 
motion  of  the  engine  by  bringing  the  eccentric 
blade  of  the  desired  motion  in  contact  with  the 
rocker  arm  and  for  giving  the  required  cut-off. 


Side  View  of  Eccentrics,  Straps  and  Keversing  Gear. 

When  a  link  is  placed  with  the  block  at  one  of 
its  ends,  steam  will  follow  the  piston  nearly  to 
the  end  of  the  stroke  and  as  the  link  is  raised  or 
lowered,  so  as  to  bring  the  link  block  toward  the 
center  of  the  link,  the  cut-off  is 
shortened.  The  rocker  arms  are 
connected  by  rods,  called  valve 
stems,  to  the  main  valves.* 

The  links  are  suspended  to  the 
ends  of  arms  by  bars,  called  link 
hangers.  These  arms  are  at- 
tached to  what  is  called  a  lifting 
shaft,  which  also  has  another  up- 
right arm  attached  to  it  on  the  right  hand  side 


End  View  of  Re- 
versing Gear. 


^■For  full  description  and  illustrations  see  Vol.  XII. 


DESCRIPTION  OF  LOCOMOTIVE. 


91 


of  the  engine.  This  arm  is  connected  by  a  re- 
versing rod  to  a  reversing  lever,  worked  by  the 
engineer  in  the  cab  of  the  locomotive.  Its  move- 
ment raises  or  lowers  the  link. 

The  method  of  governing  the  action  of  the 
slide  valves  and  the  admission  of  steam  to  the 
cylinders  (and  consequent  smooth  operation  and 

economical    working    of    the 
f        machine,  or  otherwise)  evinces 

the    skill     of    the     engineer. 

How  this  skill  is  exercised  in 


Engineer's  Lever  In  Connection  with  Reversing  Gear. 


controlling  the  expansion  of  the  steam  in  the 
cylinder  rather  than  the  opening  and  closing  of 
the  valve  which  admits  steam  into  the  cylinder, 
can  not  be  explained  with  sufficient  perspicuity 
to  be  of  sensible  aid  to  the  student.  The  sub- 
ject is  pre-eminently  one  of  practical  knowledge, 
and  what  little  can  be  gained  from  books  by  the 
new  beginner  is  given  in  Vol.  XII. 

I  do  not  esteem  it  necessary  here  to  fur- 
ther describe  the  apparatus  by  which  the 
action  of  the  piston  in  the  cylinder  is  brought 
to  bear  on  the  driving  wheel,  and  so  on  the  train. 


92 


RAILWAY   EQUIPMENT. 


All  tlie  connecting  rods  and  shafts  must,  it  is 
apparent,  be  relative  in  length,  size  and  strength 
to  the  other  parts  of  the  machine;  harmony  must 
exist  throughout.  This  is  true  also  of  the  boiler 
and  cylinders,  which  must  be  proportionate  to 
the  load  to  be  hauled  and  the  speed  to  be  at- 
tained. These  details,  incomprehensible  to  the 
novice,  are  achieved  by  following  well-known 
practices  of  construction,  aided  by  demonstrated 
formulas  for  ascertaining  the  tensile  strength  of 
the  various  metallic  parts  of  which  the  machine 
is  made.     These  parts,  so  generally  made  of  iron 

at  one  time, 
are  now  al- 
most univer- 
sally made  of 
steel. 

There  are 
two  forms  of 
locomotives. 
One  is  known 
as  the  simple 
or  single  ex- 
pansion loco- 
motive; the 
other  as  the 
compound 
locomotive. 
Among  the 
things  claimed 
for  the  last  named  is  that  it  saves  fuel  because 
of  the  greater  degree  of  expansion  of  the  steam. 


Section  showing  action  of  steam  in  compound 
cylinder. 


i 


DESCRIPTION  OF  LOCOMOTIVE. 


93 


Its  advocates  claim  that  after  the  steam  has 
acted  upon  the  piston  of  one  cylinder  (the  high- 
pressure)  it  is  conve^^ed  into  a  larger  cj^linder 
(the  low-pressure),  where  it  expands  and  acts 
again  upon  another  piston  before  being  finally 
exhausted  through  the  smokestack.  The  four- 
cylinder  compound  locomotive  has  a  high-pres- 
sure and  low-pressure  cylinder  on  each  side  of 
the  engine.  The  two  cylinders  (high  and  low 
pressure)  of  the  type  illustrated,  are  cast  in  one 
piece,  Avith  a  valve  chamber  and  saddle.  The 
valve  which  allows  the  steam  access  to  the  cylin- 
ders is  of  the  piston  type.  It  is  double  and  hol- 
low and  works  in  a  cylindrical  steam  chest  in 
the  saddle  of  the  cylinder  casting,  between  the 
cylinders  and  the  smoke  box.  This  valve  con- 
trols the  steam  ad- 
mission and  ex- 
haust of  both  the 
high  and  low-pres- 
sure cylinders. 
The  steam  which 
is  exhausted  from 
the  high-pressure 
cylinder  becomes 
at  once  the  supply 
for  the  low-pres- 
sure cylinder. 
When  the  front 
bars  of  the  locomotive  frames  are  double,  the 
low-pressure  cylinder  is  placed  on  toj),  and  the 
double   rail  prevents  the    use   of  the   ordinary 


Front  View  of  Compound  Cylinder  (cylinder 
heads  removed). 


94 


RA IL  WA  Y    EQ  UIPMKNT. 


rocker  shaft  and  box.  The  valve  motion  is  then 
what  is  called  direct  acting,  changing  the  loca- 
tion of  the  eccentrics  on  the  axle  in  relation  to 
the  crank  pin.^'*  When  the  front  rails  are  single 
bars,  the  low-pressure  cylinder  is  under  the  other 
and  the  eccentrics  are  placed  in  the  usual  posi- 
tion. In  such  case  the  valve  motion  is  called 
indirect  acting.  The  most  common  method  of 
transferring  the  motion  from  the  links  to  the 
valve  rod  is  by  means  of  a  rocker  arm,  the  link 
block  being  connected  with  the  lower  end  of  the 
rocker  arm,  and  the  valve  rod  to  the  upper  arm. 
Before  starting  the  locomotive,  steam  is  admitted 
to  both  the  low  and  high-pressure  cylinders. 
For  this  purpose  a  starting  valve  is  provided, 
which  is  opened  to  admit  steam  to  pass  from  one 

end  of  the  high- 
pressure  cylinder 
to  the  other,  and 
thence  through  the 
exhaust  to  the  low- 
pressure  cylinder. 
It  is  operated  by 
the  same  lever 
which  operates  the 
ordinary  cylinder 
cocks.  To  secure 
harmony,  however, 
and  to  prevent  the 
locomotive  becom- 
ing logy,  this  valve 
is  kept  closed  as 


Section  of  Starting  Valve  and  Relief  Cock, 
Compound  Cylinder.  Position  "J"  for  start- 
ing; position  "K"  for  high-pressure  cylinder 
relief  cock. 


*See  Vol.  XII. 


DESCRIPTIOX  OF  LOCOMOTIVE. 


95 


mncli  as  possible.  Besides  the  usual  air  valves 
placed  in  the  main  passage  of  the  high-pres- 
sure cylinder  and  also  in  the  admission  ports  of 
the  low-pressure  cylinder,  additional  air-valves 
are  placed  in  the  low-pressure  cylinders  to 
prevent  the 
formation 
of  a  vacu- 
um which 
would  draw 
cinders  into 
the  steam- 
chest  and 
cylinders. 
To  prevent 
rupture  in 
case  of  ex- 
cessive pres- 
sure, water 
relief  valves 
are  attached 
to  the  front 

and  back  cylinder  heads  of  the  low-pressure  cyl- 
inder. The  compound  engine  is  generally  similar 
to  the  ordinary  single-expansion  locomotive,  ex- 
cept in  the  respects  pointed  out."^' 

The  grate  of  a  locomotive  usually  consists  of 
cast  iron  bars  so  arranged  that  they  may  be 
easily  moved   or  shaken.     Grates   designed   for 


Applicatiou  of  Starting  Valve  and  Relief  Cock, 
Compound  Cylinder. 


*  The  subject  of  compound-cylinder  engines  versus  single- 
expansion  cylinder  engines  is  also  referred  to  in  the  chapter  on 
'^Tlie  Evolution  of  the  Locomotive"  in  this  volume,  but  more 
particularly  and  in  great  detail,  and  with  profuse  illustrations, 
in  Vol.  XII. 


96 


RAIL  ^yA  y  eq uipmkxt. 


y 


Section  Showing  Grate  and  Damper 


burning  anthracite  coal  are  sometimes  con- 
structed of  wrought  iron  tubes,  through  which 
a  current  of  water  circulates  in  order  to  prevent 
the  grate  from  becoming  over-heated.  Cinders 
and  burning  coals  are  prevented  from  falling 
through  the  grate  upon  the  railwa}^  track  by  an 
ash  pan,  made  to  fit  as  closely  as  possible  inside. 

Dampers  are  pro- 
vided for  increas- 
^^  ing  or  shutting  off 
the  draught,  as  re- 
quired. The  fire 
box,  which  affords 
room  for  the  burn- 
ing fuel,  is  usually 
a  rectangular  box,  about  three  feet  wide,  made 
of  iron  or  steel  plates.  These  plates  are  so 
arranged  as  to  form  an  inside  and  an  outside 
shell,  having  a  space  between  them,  called  a 
water  space.  This  space  varies  on  different  loco- 
motives from  two  and  a  half  to  four  and  a  half 
inches.  The  inner  shell  in  many  cases  is  made 
of  copper  plates,  and  has  a  flat  top  called  the 
crown-sheet,  or  crown-plate.  In  America  soft 
steel  has  taken  the  place  of  copper.  The  top  of 
the  outside  shell  is  generally  arched.  The  two 
shells  are  united  by  what  is  more  or  less  gener- 
ally known  as  a  mud-ring,  which  closes  the  water 
space  between  the  two  shells  at  the  bottom.  As 
the  water  in  the  cylindrical  part  of  the  boiler  of 
the  locomotive  has  free  contact  with  that  in  the 
water  space  of  the   fire  box,  the  shells  of  the 


DESCRIPTION  OF  LOCOMOTIVE.  97 

latter  are  exposed  to  the  steam  pressure,  the 
strain  upon  the  outer  and  inner  shells  being  in 
opposite  directions.  In  order  to  resist  the  pres- 
sure thus  brought  to  bear  upon  them,  they  are 
strengthened  and  held  together  b}^  stay  bolts 
screwed  through  the  outer  and  inner  plates  at 
short  distances  from  each  other.  The  ends  of 
these  stay  bolts  are  securely  hammered  down 
after  being  inserted  into  the  plates.  As  much 
depends  upon  the  strength  of  these  bolts,  sub- 
jected as  they  are  to  the  expansion  and  contrac- 
tion of  the  steam  in  the  boiler,  they  are  made 
of  the  best  quality  of  material.  In  the  case  of  a 
crown-bar  fire  box,  the  crown-sheet  is  strength- 
ened by  strong  iron  bars  bolted  thereto  and  con- 
nected to  the  outside  shell  by  braces  or  sling 
stays.  The  tubes  or  flues  of  the  boiler  are 
attached  to  the  front  plate  of  the  inner  shell  of 
the  fire  box.  This  plate  is  called  the  flue  sheet, 
and  is  rigidly  stayed  to  the  cylindrical  part  of 
the  boiler  by  braces  at  the  bottom  of  the  latter. 
These  tubes  carry  the  smoke  and  products  of 
combustion  from  the  fire  box  to  the  smoke  box 
and  so  on  out  at  the  chimney  or  smokestack. 

There  are  two  main  methods  of  firing  a  loco- 
motive; one  is  known  as  the  banking  system,  the 
other  the  spreading  system.  The  former,  it  i& 
thought,  may  be  used  to  advantage  when  the 
coal  is  comparatively  free  from  clinkers.  The 
coal  is  banked  or  piled  in  the  back  part  of  the 
fire  box  and  sloped  downward  toward  the  front 
of  the  grate  where  it  is  kept  at  a  white  heat. 

7    Vol.  1 


98 


RAIL  VTA  Y   EQ  UIPMENT. 


c 

a 
o 


b  >»  *i  -<  A 

w    (h    ai    t»    '-' 

o 


0) 


03  C» 


•  i<^    S    ^    £3 


^  CO    ■« 


(U  ci  tc  p-  3 
23  ;=:  -xs  ^ 


-5     ;=^  -^  (v,  o     . 

7^     ^'  ^  ?  S  -3 


^-     ^     t-(     :j 


'S 


a)   M 


•    5    t^  §  -S 
t-.    ^    ri    ^ 

^  o  ^  =*;S 

.^         .-.  CJ         gj 

^^  S)  ^  5. 

mil 


OJ 


tn    a;  -  O    tn 

Oi  ^  '>'  P,  >» 

.■;^    S  ft  03 

3  s  .  2  -S 

PS  ^  ^  ^  ^  » 

C  ft  *<  '->   o 

5  -p,  S  ^  fl 


DE SCRIP TTOX  OF  T.Or0^fOTTVE. 


99 


The  coal  in  the  back  part  of  the  fire  box  gradu- 
ally cokes  and  thus  the  gases  are  expelled.  The 
consumption  of  these  gases  is  aided  by  the  admis- 
sion of  air  at  the  furnace  door,  Avhich  mixes  with 
them.  When  the  bank  of  coal  at  the  back  of  the 
lire  box  becomes  coked,  it  is  pushed  forward  onto 
the  glowing  fire  and  more  coal  put  in  its  place  to 
go  through  the  same  process.  The  spreading 
method  of  firing,  referred  to  above,  is  used  when 
the  coal  contains  clinkers.  The  coal  is  evenly 
spread  in  a  thin  layer  over  the  entire  grate.  The 
success  and  economy  of  this  method  depend  upon 
the  regularity  with  which  the  fire  is  fed  and  the 
layer  of  coal  maintained;  also  upon  the  proper 
admission  of  air  alcove  the  fire.  The  layer  of 
coal  is  thicker  when  the  engine  is  working  hard 
than  when  it  is  doing  light  work.  To  obtain  the 
best  results,  intelligence 
and  observation  must  be 
exercised  by  those  in 
charge  here  as  elsewhere. 
In  order  to  create  a 
draught  when  the  loco- 
motive is  standing  still, 
either  before  leaving  the 
round  house  or  at  any 
other  place,  there  is  a 
device  for  letting  steam 
into  the  smokestack 
directly  from  the  boiler. 
This  steam  represents  an  expense,  as  it  takes  so 
much   live   steam    from    the   boiler,  while   that 


Part  Section  of  Boiler,  Show- 
ing Blower. 


100 


RA IL  WA  V   EQ UIPMKNT, 


Section  Showing  Spark  Arrestor, 

used  with  Extension 

Front  Ends. 


from  the  cj^linders,  having  alread}'  performed  its 
office,  does  not.     Because  of  this,  or  from  a  desire 

to  husband  the  supply  of 
steam  in  the  boiler,  or 
because  of  forgetfulness, 
the  device  in  question  for 
creating  a  draught  is  not 
always  used. 

Another  device  of  the 
locomotive  is  the  spark 
arrester,  placed  below  the 
smoke-stack  above  the 
flue  openings.  In  some 
countries  the  use  of  this 
device  is  required  by  law. 
Besides  abating  a  nuisance,  it  is  useful  as  a 
precaution  against  setting  fire  to  property  along 
the  track. 

In  districts  where  it  is  found  desirable  to  use 
oil  for  fuel,  adaptable  grates  or  burners  have 
been  devised  for  the  purpose.*  However,  it  is 
believed  that  they  are  more  or  less  imperfect, 
like  all  new  devices  introduced  to  supply  com- 

*  In  some  investigations  made  during  the  coal  strikes,  a  few 
years  ago,  an  engine  "was  fitted  up  witli  an  oil-burning  device. 
It  was  found,  however,  that  it  was  not  economical  to  use  oil  at 
a  price  of  1.7c  per  gallon  unless  coal  cost  more  than  $2.00  a  ton. 
Dr.  Dudley,  Chemist  of  the  Pennsylvania  Kailroad  Company, 
made  some  extensive  investigations  in  Russia  in  regard  to  oil 
for  fuel  in  locomotives,  and  that  company  afterward  fitted  up 
an  engine,  finding  that  it  was  perfectly  practicable  to  operate 
an  engine  with  oil,  but  that  it  was  no  economy  for  the  Penn- 
sylvania road  with  the  prevailing  price  of  fuel  and  oil  on  their 
line  of  road. 


DESCRIPTION  OF  LOCOMOTIVE. 


101 


paratively  recent  needs.  They  are,  however, 
such  as  to  effect  a  saving  in  cost  compared  with 
other  kinds  of  fuel,  bat  the  pattern  or  form 
which  the  oil  burner  or  grate  will  ultimately 
assume  after  experience  has  demonstrated  what 
is  needed,  it  is  impossible  to  tell. 

The  devices  now  generally  recommended  for 
using  oil  contemplate  the  supply  of  liquid  being 
carried  in  a  reservoir.  This  is  placed  in  the  tank 
of  the   locomotive  tender.      The  reservoir  con- 


Section  Showing  Fire  Box  and  Tank  Arrangement  for  the  Use  of  Oil  as  Fuel. 

taining  the  oil  is  thus  immersed  in  water.  By 
this  means  danger  of  the  liquid  igniting  acci- 
dentally is  reduced  to  the  minimum.  The  con- 
venience of  this  method  and  the  necessity  that 
precautions  shall  be  observed  are  likely  to  fix 
this  as  the  storehouse  for  the  oil  for  all  time  to 
come. 

When  oil  is  used  for  fuel,  the  fire  is  fed  ])y 
means  of  a  pipe,  a  valve  preventing  the  escape  of 
the  oil  in  case  the  pipe  should  by  any  means  be- 
come disconnected.  The  utilization  of  oil  (or 
the  refuse  thereof)  for  heating  purposes  usually 


102 


RAIL  WA  Y  EQ  UIPMENT. 


*—  P/<3n  o/  Burner.  — 


contemplates  its  dispersion  in  the  fire  box  in  the 
form  of  a  spray.  To  accomplisli  this,  one  pipe 
carries  oil  to  the  fire  box  while  another  pipe, 
entering  directly  below,  carries  steam.  The 
escape  of  the  latter  breaks  the  stream  of  oil  into 
spray.    Both   pipes   have   stopcocks.    It  is  said 

that  in  practical 
use  the  flat  flame 
or  spray  is  supe- 
rior to  the  conical 
flare  or  ring  of  jets. 
Liquid  fuel  has 
many  advantages 
over  coal  or  other 
forms.*  One  im- 
portant advantage 
is  that  it  is  more 
easily  and  cheaply 
handled.  The  dan- 
ger of  setting  fires 
along  the  tracks  by  sparks  from  the  locomotive 
is  avoided  by  the  use  of  oil.  The  absence  of  cin- 
ders and  dirt,  inseparable  from  the  use  of  coal  or 
wood,  lessens  the  wear  and  tear  of  the  machinery 
of  the  engine.     The  wastage  which  the  use  of 

*  Superintendents  of  railroads  where  it  is  used  in  southeast- 
ern Russia  claim  that  the  evaporation  of  from  twelve  to  thirteen 
and  one-half  pounds  of  water  is  secured  per  pound  of  petroleum 
for  locomotives.  American  experts  claim  that  twelve  hundred 
and  fifty  pounds  of  oil  equal,  in  work,  a  ton  of  coal — two  thou- 
sand pounds.  It  is  said  that  the  best  results  are  obtained  by 
adjusting  the  temperature  of  the  oil  before  it  reaches  the  fire 
box. 


Fuel  Oil  Burner. 


DESCRIPTION  OF  LOCOMOTIVE.  103 

coal  and  wood  entails  is  avoided  in  the  case  of 
oil.  The  comfort  of  travelers  is  also  greatly 
heightened.  The  thing  jper  se,  however,  in  con- 
nection with  the  use  of  petroleum,  is  the  saving 
it  effects.* 

Petroleum  has  been  used  for  centuries  as  a  sub- 
stitute for  other  forms  of  fuel  in  the  great  basin 
of  southeastern  Kussia  adjacent  to  the  Caspian 
Sea.  Petroleum  is  produced  there  in  abundant 
quantities,  and  is  cheaper  than  all  other  forms 
of  fuel.  It  is  used  exclusively  on  locomotives 
and  for  stationary  and  marine  engines.  The- 
crude  oil  is  not  burned,  however,  but  the  re- 
siduum which  is  left  after  refining  the  crude 
product.! 

It  is  said  that  petroleum  has  always  been  used 
for  fuel  in  this  region  of  the  Caspian  Sea,  but  in 
earlier  times  the  demand  was  light  and,  in  the 
absence  of  appliances  or  grates  for  burning  the 

*  The  following  statement  of  an  American  railway  gives  a 
comparison  between  tlie  use  of  coal  and  oil  for  one  month,  viz.: 
Cost  per  mile,  for  all  engines,  for  coal,  23.46  cents;  cost  per 
mile,  for  all  engines,  for  oil,  14.24  cents;  saving  per  mile,  about 
39,3  per  cent.  It  should  be  remembered,  however,  in  compar- 
ing the  cost,  the  oil  is  found  on  the  spot  while  coal  is  not  pro- 
duced in  the  locality,  but  has  to  be  carried  a  great  distance. 
Its  cost  to  the  raih'oad  company  is  something  like  eight  dollars 
per  ton.  In  localities  where  coal  is  produced  and  sold  at  a  low 
tigure  it  is  as  a  rule,  probably,  cheaper  for  fuel  than  oil. 

fin  numerous  instances,  however,  in  other  countries  the 
crude  oil  is  used  for  fuel  instead  of  the  dregs.  Tliis  will  be 
changed  with  the  introduction  of  appliances  for  refining  the 
oil.  A  curious  device  adopted  to  keep  the  flues  of  the  locomo- 
tive free  from  soot  Avhere  oil  is  used  is  a  sand  funnel,  the  sand 
being  carried  through  the  flues  by  the  draught  from  the  Are  box. 


104  RAILWAY   EQUIP2IEXT. 

oil,  the  natives  mixed  it  with  cinders  and  other 
substances  before  igniting  it.  It  is  possible  that 
the  worship  of  fire  in  Persia  was  first  suggested 
by  the  numerous  gas  wells  w^iich  are  to  be  found 
in  the  northern  districts  of  that  ancient  and  still 
primitive  country. 

Petroleum  is  used  as  a  substitute  for  other 
forms  of  fuel  in  some  parts  of  South  America, 
particularly  Peru.  Its  introduction  in  California 
is  more  recent.  The  supply  of  oil  in  the  latter 
section  is  not  yet  determinable.  In  connection 
with  the  experiments  of  a  California  railway,  the 
company  reports  that  "steam  at  a  jDressure  of 
from  one  hundred  and  fifty  to  one  hundred  and 
seventy  pounds,  applied  direct  to  the  atomizer, 
gives  better  results  than  superheated  steam  or 
superheated  air,  producing  fiame  which  is  carried 
entirely  tl:^rough  the  flues.  This  could  not  be 
accomplished  with  superheated  steam  or  super- 
heated air,  the  latter  acting  more  in  the  nature 
of  a  blowpipe,  producing  intense  heat  in  the  fire 
box,  but  not  carrying  the  flame  forward."  This 
company  reports  that  it  is  able  to  change  its  coal- 
burning  engines  to  oil  burners  for  less  than  one 
hundred  dollars  each.  The  cost,  therefore,  of 
introducing  oil  may  be  quickly  repaid  by  the 
saving  where  circumstances  favor  its  use.  The 
statement,  more  or  less  credited,  that  oil  is  more 
severe  on  the  fire  box  and  flues  than  coal  or 
other  forms  of  fuel,  is  claimed  to  be  unfounded. 
Directly  the  reverse  is  said  to  be  the  case.  This, 
however,  is  a  point  upon  which^  it  is  probable, 


DESCRIPTION  OF  LOCOMOTIVE. 


105 


experience  has  not  been  sufficient  to  enable  men 
to  judge  finally.  We  know,  however,  that  the 
use  of  oil  for  fuel  requires  skill  and  care  upon 
the  part  of  the  fireman;  but  every  form  of  fuel 
requires  these.  The  theory  of  the  effective  use 
of  oil  for  fuel  contemplates  that  the  heat  shall 
be  uniform  and  well  distributed  in  the  fire  box 
and  fines,  the  former  according  to  the  service 
to  be  performed.  Whether  these  are  most  effec- 
tively secured  by  the  devices  in  use,  or  whether 


American  Four-wheeled  Saddle  Tank  Engine.  Diameter  of  cylinders,  16 
in.;  stroke,  24  in. ;  diameter  of  driving  wheels,  48  in.;  Avheel  base,  7  ft. ;  weight 
of  locomotive,  76,000  lbs. 

something  else  may  be  found  to  be  better,  time 
only  can  tell.  I  may  say  in  conclusion,  that  in 
using  oil  for  fuel,  it  is  necessary,  in  order  to 
avoid  undue  expansion  and  contraction,  the  heat 
should  be  sufficient  in  every  case  to  exclude  the 
cold  air. 

The  method  of  supplying  and  carrying  the 
water  required  for  use  in  the  boiler  of  the  loco- 
motive varies.  In  some  instances  the  supply 
is  carried  above  the  boiler.     In  such   cases  the 


106 


RAIL  WA  Y  EQ  UIPMENT. 


Side  View  of  Tender  (with  Water 
Scoop  dropped). 


locomotive   is   called   a  tank   engine.     Usually, 
however,  locomotives  have  a  tender  attached.    It 

answers  the  double  pur- 
pose of  carrying  fuel  and 
water.  The  quantity  of 
water  and  fuel  varies  ac- 
cording to  needs.  The 
maximum  of  the  former 
may  be  generally  stated 
at  forty-five  hundred  gal- 
lons, and  the  latter  at  eight  tons  of  coal.  The 
customary  way  of  filling  the  tank  of  the  engine 
with  water  is  by  means  of  a  water  pipe  or  crane 
attached  to  the  supply  house,  commonly  called 
the  w^ater  tank.  In  order,  however,  to  secure  a 
supply  of  water  when  the  train  stops  only  at  long 
intervals,  or  otherwise  to  economize  time,  the 
well-known  device  of  replenishing  the  water  in 
the  tender  while  the  engine  is  in  motion,  from 
a  sunken  tank  in  the  track,  has  suggested  itself. 
The  tank  or  trough  is  filled  with  water  and 
varies  in  length.  As  the  engine  reaches  the 
tank,  the  lower  end  of  an  inverted  or  curved 
pipe  is  lowered  into  the  water.  This  pipe  ex- 
tends to  the 
top  of  the 
tender  and 
is  provided 
with  a  hinge 
near  the  low^- 
er  end  so  it 

Section  of  Tender  Showing  Water  Scoop  in  ^  •  i 

Track  Tank.  may  bc  casily 


DESCRIPTION  OF  LOCOMOTIVE. 


107 


raised  and  lowered.  The  speed  of  the  locomotive 
forces  the  water  through  this  pipe  into  the  ten- 
der, and  in  this  way  thirty-five  hundred  gallons 
of  water  may  be  taken  up  in  a  few  seconds, 
according  to  the  size  of  the  pipe  and  the  speed 
of  the  engine.  The  pipe  is  under  the  control  of 
the  engineer.  However,  in  order  to  prevent  acci- 
dent because  of  dropping  it  too  soon  or  raising  it 
too  late,  the  device  is  perfected  by  raising  the 
rails  at  either  end  of  the  tank  so  that  the  end  of 
the  pipe  will  clear  the  road  and  trough  if  dropped 
before  the  latter  is  reached  or  left  a  second  after 
the  sunken  tank  is  passed. 


nnnnnn 


nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnng 


Water  Tank.    Approach  to  tank. 

Water  from  the  tender  is  conveyed  to  the  en- 
gine by  a  piece  of  rubber  hose  attached  to  each 
side  underneath  the  front  end  of  the  tank,  the 
other  end  being  connected  to  the  pipe  on  the 
engine,  which  supplies  water  to  the  injector.  The 
water  is  turned  on  and  shut  off  from  this  hose  l)y 
valves.  In  order  that  the  tank  on  the  tender 
shall  be  able  to  resist  the  pressure  of  the  water, 
the  flat  sides  of  the  tank  are  braced  by  rods  or 
bars.  To  resist  the  violent  motion  of  the  water 
when  the  tender  is  started  or  stopped  suddenly, 


108 


RAIL^YAY   EQUIPMENT. 


Front  View  of  Tender 
with  Scoop  in  Track 
Tank. 


transverse  plates  are  placed  inside;   these  are 
commonly  called  diaphragm  plates. 

Fuel  is  supplied  to  the  loco- 
motive in  various  ways.  It  may 
be  said  generally  to  be  depend- 
ent upon  the  quantity  and  the 
ability  of  the  company  to  afford 
the  most  convenient  arrange- 
ments. Coal  is  oftentimes  shov- 
eled from  cars  standing  on  an 
adjacent  track.  Sometimes  iron 
buckets  filled  with  coal,  hoisted 
by  cranes,  are  swung  over  and 
emptied  into  the  tender.  In  other  cases  cars  of 
coal  are  placed  on  platforms  located  high  enough 
so  the  contents  may  be  unloaded  by  gravity  into 
the  tender.  Another  method  is  the  coal  chute. 
The  coal  in  this  case  is  stored  in  pockets.  Each 
pocket  has  a  spout  which,  upon  being  lowered 
over  the  tender,  empties  its  contents  into  the 
tender.  A  stationary  engine  for  performing  this 
work   is    common  where   the  _. 

quantity  of  fuel  to  be  handled 
justifies  it. 

In  further  reference  to  the 
locomotive,  it  is  supported  on 
either  side  by  a  frame,  made  of 
wrought  iron  bars  or  rolled 
iron  plates.  The  frame  is 
built  in  two  sections.  To  the 
back  section  the  driving  axles  are  attached,  and 
to  the  front  section  the  cylinders  are  bolted. 


Rear  View  of  Tender. 


DESCRIPTIOX  OF  LOCOMOTIVE.  109 

The  frame  legs  for  receiving  the  axle  boxes  are 
usually  connected  longitudinally  by  means  of 
two  bars  welded  to  the  same.  This  forms  the 
back  section.  To  this  section  at  the  front  end 
is  attached  a  device  (usually  in  the  form  of 
a  jaw)  provided  for  the  bolting  of  the  front 
section,  the  latter  generally  consisting  of  a 
single  bar  extending  to  the  front  end  of  the 
engine,  where  a  heavy  timber,  called  a  bumper, 
extends  from  one  side  to  the  other.  The  cow- 
catcher or  pilot  (the  device  for  removing  obsta- 
cles from  the  track  in  front  of  the  locomo- 
tive) is  attached  in  front  of  this  bumper  timber. 
The  cowcatcher  is  commonly  made  of  wood,  hav- 
ing a  triangular  frame  at  the  bottom  so  sup- 
ported that  it  is  a  few  inches  above  the  top  of 
the  rails.  It  is  made  of  heavy  strips  of  wood 
or  iron  bars  attached  to  the  frame,  a  few  inches 
apart.  Iron  plates  or  scrapers,  forming  a  snow- 
plow,  are  oftentimes  attached  to  the  pilot  to 
remove  snow  from  the  track  when  necessary  or 
the  snow  is  light.  The  locomotive  is  further 
supported  by  springs  to  protect  it,  so  far  as  pos- 
sible, from  injury  resulting  from  the  jar  to  which 
it  is  subjected  wiien  in  motion.  The  springs  rest 
on  saddles  bearing  on  the  top  of  the  axle  boxes. 
The  frames  are  suspended  to  the  ends  of  these 
springs  by  spring  hangers.  The  boiler  and  other 
parts  of  the  locomotive  being  also  fastened  to  the 
frames,  the  weight  of  the  locomotive  is  thereby 
suspended  on  the  springs. 

The  weight  of  the  locomotive  is  equally  dis- 


no 


RA IL  WA  V   EQ UIPMENT. 


Equalizer— Side  View. 


tributed  upon  the  driving  wheels  by  means  of 
equalizing  levers.      These    levers  support    each 

side  of  the  engine 
so  that  the  action 
is  the  same  as  if  it 
were  supported  on 
one  point.  They 
are  supported  by  a 
fulcrum  in  the  center,  and  the  fulcrum  is  at- 
tached to  the  frame  of  the  locomotive. 

In  reference  to  the  construction  of  the  wheels 
of  the  locomotive,  including  those  known  as 
drivers,  the  reader  is  referred  to  that  portion  of 
this  work  in  which  the  subject  of  car  wheels  is 
especially  referred  to.* 

The  air  brake  in  use  to-day  covers  a  subject  so 
important  and  vast  that  I  have  found  it  neces- 
sary to  treat  it  apart  in  another  place. f 

The  supply  of  sand  needed  for  daily  use  is  car- 
ried in  a  cylindrical  receptacle  placed  on  top  of 
the  boiler,  called  a  sand  box.  From  here  it  may 
be  easily  applied  to  the  rails  as  needed,  through  a 
pipe  on  each  side  of  the  boiler.  A  valve  oper- 
ated by  a  lever  in  the  cab  of  the  locomotive  ad- 
mits the  sand  into  the  pipes.  In  order  to  ensure 
a  uniform  and  continuous  supply  of  sand  on  the 
rails,  a  device  is  employed  for  forcing  the  sand 
by  a  blast  of  steam  or  compressed  air.  This  is 
accomplished    by  means    of    an    ejector    which 

*  See  volume  "  Train  Service." 

f  See  chapter  <'  Construction  and  Operation  of  the  Ail* 
Brake,"  in  this  volume,  also  "Engineers'  and  Firemen's  Man- 
ual," Vol.  XII. 


DESCRIPTIOX  OF  LOCOMOTIVE. 


Ill 


ijec/or 

Sand  Pipe  of  Locomotive,  Supplemented 
by  Steam  Blast. 


draws  a  small  amount  of  i^s/e^rn  v^/re 

sand    from    the    box    and 

forces    it    in    a    powerful 

blast    directly    upon     the 

point  of  contact  between 

the  wheel  and  rail. 

Locomotives  in  America 

are  provided  with  a  steam 

whistle,  a  bell,  and 

a  gong,  for  giving 

and  receiving  sig- 
nals.    The  whistle 

consists  of  an  in- 
verted cup  or  bell,  made  of  brass  or  other  metal, 

placed  over  a  cir- 
cular opening.  It 
is  fastened  to  a 
stem  w h i c h  is 
screwed  into  the 
top  of  the  dome  of 
the  boiler.  Inside 
of  this  stem  is  a 
valve  which  opens 
communication 
with  the  steam. 
This  valve  is  open- 
ed or  closed  by  a 
lever  in  the  cab. 
When  the  valve  is 
open  the  escaping 
steam  produces  the 
alarm    or   whistle. 


Section. 


Side  View. 


Steam  Whistle. 


112  RAILWAY  EQUIPMENT. 

The  locomotive  bell  swings  from  an  iron  frame 
projecting  from  the  top  of  the  boiler.  It  is 
connected  with  the  cab  by  a  rope  with  which 
it  is  rung  when  used  for  signaling.  It  is  some- 
times operated  by  compressed  air  or  steam.  The 
weight  of  the  bell  varies  from  fifty  to  one  hun- 
dred pounds.  On  passenger  trains,  signals  are 
given  the  engineer  from  every  part  of  the  train 
by  means  of  a  gong  which  is  fastened  to  the  upper 
part  of  the  locomotive  cab  on  the  inside.  The 
train  bell  cord  is  attached  to  the  hammer  of  this 
gong.  Automatic  whistles  operated  by  com- 
pressed air  are,  in  some  instances,  substituted 
for  the  gong. 

A  large  lamp  or  headlight  attached  to  the 
smoke  box  at  the  front  end  of  the  locomotive 
is  used  to  illuminate  the  track  at  night  and  give 
notice  of  the  approach  of  the  engine.  A  concave 
reflector  is  placed  at  the  back  of  the  lamp.  This 
reflector  is  of  such  shape  that  the  rays  reflected 
from  it  (when  the  light  is  placed  in  its  focus)  will 
be  in  parallel  lines. 

On  all  American  roads  a  covered  apartment, 
called  a  cab,  is  provided  at  the  rear  of  the  boiler 
for  the  protection  of  the  machinery  and  those  in 
attendance  on  the  engine.  Seats  are  provided  on 
either  side  for  the  engineer  and  fireman.  Win- 
dows at  the  sides  and  front  afford  them  a  full 
view  of  the  roadway  and  track. 


In  regard  to  details  of  working,  before  a  fire 
13  started  in  the  locomotive  the  grates  and  ash 


DESCRIPTION  OF  LOCOMOTIVE. 


113 


pan  are  freed  from  clinkers,  cinders  and  ashes,  and 
care  taken  to  see  that  the  boiler  contains  the 
necessary  supply  of  water.  The  fire  is  started 
slowly,  otherwise  the  undue  expansion  and  con- 
traction of  the  different  parts  will  be  likely  to 
produce  an  excessive  strain  on  the  boiler. 

Before  leaving  the  engine  house  the  cylinder 
cocks  are  opened  to  allow  any  water  or  steam 
which  may  have  condensed  in  the  cylinders  to 

escape.  The  supply  of 
water  in  the  tender  is 
also  looked  after;  also 
the  quanty  of  sand  in 
the  sandbox,  the 
requisite  tools,  fuel, 
oil,  waste,  packing, 
and  other  accessories 
of  the  locomotive 
necessary  to  its  oper- 
ation. In  starting  a 
train,  it  is  the  practice  of  careful  engineers  to 
open  the  throttle  slowly,  so  as  to  start  the  train 
gradually.  Full  speed  is  not  sought  to  be  attained 
until  the  engineer  has  ascertained  that  the  train 
as  a  whole  moves  together,  that  the  switches  are 
liroperly  placed,  the  track  clear,  and  every  other 
detail  as  it  should  be. 

In  practical  operation  the  engine  is  started  by 
moving  the  throttle,  opening  the  valve  which 
allows  the  steam  to  pass  from  the  steam  dome 
above  the  boiler  into  the  cylinders.  Formerly 
the  speed  of  the  engine  was  controlled  by  the 

8    Vol.  1 


Section.  Side  View. 

Cylinder  Eelief  Cock. 


I 


DESCRIPTION  OF  LOCOMOTIVE.  115 

size  of  this  opening,  but  as  the  link  motion, 
already  described,  allows  the  expansion  to  be 
varied  at  will,  the  throttle-valve  is  kept  open 
and  the  speed  controlled  by  varying  the  amount 
of  the  expansion. 

Such  are  the  details  of  the  modern  locomotive.* 
The  reader  will  notice  that  I  have  not  attempted 
to  exhaust  the  subject.  To  understand  the  loco- 
motive requires  intelligence,  study  and  great 
practical  knowledge.-  Nothing  that  can  be  said 
in  books  about  the  construction  and  operations 
of  the  locomotive  is  of  particular  value  to  an 
engineer  or  fireman;  but  a  description  of  the 
locomotive,  even  so  imperfect  as  that  embraced 
in  the  foregoing  chapter,  is  of  the  greatest  pos- 
sible interest  and  value  to  other  railway  men, 
who  have  neither  the  opportunity,  time  nor 
inclination  to  become  practical  engineers,  but 
who  have  a  desire,  and  it  is  to  the  interest  of 
every  railway  company  that  they  should  have 
the  power,  to  acquaint  themselves  with  the  vari- 
ous parts  of  the  locomotive  and  the  theory  of  its 
operation.  It  is  for  such  people  that  I  have 
written  this  chapter. 

*  In  further  explanation  of  the  locomotive,  and  as  a  key  to 
many  things  impossible  to  write  specifically  of,  I  have  em- 
braced in  the  Appendix  (B)  to  this  volume,  a  list  of  the  articles 
or  different  parts  which  go  to  make  up  a  locomotive.  The  parts 
that  the  manufacturers  of  locomotives  buy  in  the  market  from 
other  manufacturers  are  indicated  by  an  asterisk  (*) 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE     LOCOMOTIVES    AND    CARS    OF     THE   WORLD     AND 
THE    MANUFACTURERS    THEREOF. 

Elsewhere  I  have  devoted  a  chapter  to  the 
growth  of  the  locomotive.  In  another  place  I 
have  described  the  modern  locomotive  and  its 
workings  in  detail.  Both  of  these  chapters  are 
so  fully  and  carefully  illustrated  that  a  novice 
may  by  their  aid  become  generally  familiar  with 
the  subject.  He  may  not,  indeed,  be  able  to  act 
as  an  engineer  or  fireman,  but  he  will  have  an 
intelligent  insight  upon  which  to  quickly  build 
up  a  practical  acquaintance  with  the  subject. 
The  chapters  in  question  depict  so  accurately  the 
parts  of  the  locomotive  and  their  operation  and 
relation  to  each  other  that  they  will  also  serve  to 
refresh  the  minds  of  practical  men,  while  those 
who  hope  to  become  practical  men,  such  as  ma- 
chinists, engineers  and  firemen,  will  find  they 
open  a  field  of  research  which  will  hasten  the 
schooling  process  through  which  every  one  must 
go.  To  railroad  men  not  connected  with  the 
machinery  department  they  will  afford  an  oppor- 
tunity of  becoming  familiar  with  the  locomotive 
and  its  history  without  going  into  tlie  shop  to 
work,  or  mounting  an  engine  to  learn,  little  by 
little,  its  operation.     Those  who  wish  to  become 

(116) 


-164 


le  •' 
96. 

cru 

hii       Chart  and  an  Encyclojatlorm  in  the  rear, 
bal      i^hart  *  ^Q^gt^uction  o^  ^^der  the 
.  ^^^  id  cnnh  as 


bra 
izii 
cru 
sto 
Lo' 
con 

Br£  ATs 
Flo 

car37  V- 
levt-han 
137  342 
ma  3d. 
rec.     34! 
AuB-pl^ 
Rebnt 
Triln-sh 
outnd  o; 
Pip62  PI 
hand  car 
con  367 
HoS-O  Pit 
hos,il.    3 
morod. 
coc.    379 
bra 
lial 


OBSERVATK    ,^ 

KD  Electric  I^^f^^'^'^rider  gub-^eadlngs. 
^„,^  oT,rt  an  Encyclojatform  in  the  rear. 

the  gleeping 


10 


,tes  the  L-uuav^  ""'^v,  oo* 
,d  of  the  car  is  such  as 


rest, 
arm. 


BUFFET  KITCHEN. 

506  Lower  berth,  r  ^^eu  locker.    603  LocKer  u 
^r  ''leSu'To'urf  MARKKHS. 

r-'sie^B^nh  saJwiM^P  boia.r.   «>6  Tall  U«P. 

spiral  spring. ,  519  P'^ 
522  Curtain  nngs.^  5 
Berth  partition.    o.» 


~s'^'?lrcSt  K."  'fc 


n       -^ 


L  fe.  t. ,;  "   ""  ..^s"! 


LOCOMOTIVES  AND  CARS. 


117 


firemen,  engineers,  or  machinists  in  a  railroad 
shop,  will  in  every  case  do  well  to  first  familiar- 
ize themselves  with  the  theory  of  the  subject. 
This  work  is  intended  to  aid  in  this. 

It  was  the  practice  at  one  time,  and  still  main- 
tains to  a  greater  or  less  extent,  to  commence  at 
the  bottom  as  a  boy  and,  by  years  of  practical 
labor  without  study,  evolve  the  experience  nec- 
essary to  a  more  extended  field  of  work.  This 
is  still  in  a  measure  necessary,  because  nothing 


This  machine  is  of  Austrian  manufacture,  and  presents  many 
unique  and  interesting  features. 

can  fill  the  place  of  practical  experience;  but 
practical  experience  without  research,  study  and 
thought,  without  delving  into  the  philosophy  of 
the  thing,  is  not  enough  to  base  a  career  upon, 
whether  a  man  be  a  fireman,  engineer,  machin- 
ist, or  statesman.  Men  whose  attainments  are 
so  limited  show^  to  great  disadvantage  compared 
with  reading  men.  If  they  would  grow  to  the 
height  their  Creator  intended,  they  must  add  to 
their   practical    experience   the   experience  and 


118 


RAIL  ^yA  Y   EQ UIPMENT. 


research  of  others.  It  is  in  order  to  aid  in  bring- 
ing a  knowledge  of  the  science  of  raih'oads  within 
the  reach  of  all,  that  I  am  led  to  write  these 
books.  I  do  not  expect  to  be  exhaustive.  Books 
intended  to  exhaust  a  subject  fail  to  do  more 
than  exhaust  the  reader.  There  is  a  natural 
growth  in  every  department  of  the  world's  in- 
dustry so  certain  and  irresistible  that  for  any 
one  to  say  he  will  exhaust  a  subject  is  simply  to 


Engine  Tender  of  Austrian  Imperial  Train. 


become  tedious — to  belittle  his  subject,  in  fact. 
The  most  that  men  of  talent  need — and  they  are 
the  only  people  worth  instructing— is  a  hint. 
They  require  to  be  led  along  the  road  a  little 
way  in  order  that  they  may  obtain  better  use  of 
their  legs  and  have  opportunity  to  observe  w^hat 
there  is  going  on  in  the  world  outside  of  the  spot 
in  w^hich  they  were  born.  This  is  the  purpose 
of  books  like  these.      They  are  not  to  fit   men 


LOCOMOTIVES  AND  CARS. 


119 


completel}^,  but  to  help  them;  to  lead  them  by 
suggestion  to  do  what  might  not  otherwise  occur 
to  them.  It  is  only  necessary  to  stimulate,  touch 
a  match,  so  to  speak,  to  fire  the  ambition  of  real 
men.     Their  ingenuity  will  do  the  rest. 

Having  pointed  out  the  evolution  of  the  loco- 
motive and  described  its  parts,  I  propose  in  this 
chapter  to  illustrate  the  higher  forms  of  locomo- 
tives and  cars  in  use  throughout  the  world.     In 

selecting  pictures 
for  incorporation 
here,  I  have  been 
led  into  corre- 
spondence with 
many  of  the  great 

Locomotive  on  Siberiau  Railway.  Diameter  mailufacturerS  of 
of  cylinders,  16  in.;  stroke,  ^2  in. ;  diameter  of  f  1-,  p  Txrnrl  rl  Q  n  r1 
drisung  wheels,  46  in. ;  weight  of  locomotive,       L/Ue     VVOllU.,      ciUil 

3iv^2  tons  from   this    have 

acquired  much  interesting  information  of  great 
value  to  myself,  if  not  to  the  reader.  The  ac- 
companying pictures  represent  standard  forms  of 
locomotives.  It  will  not  be  long,  however,  be- 
fore they  will  become  obsolete,  like  the  equip- 
ment of  fifty  years  ago.  When  this  period  arrives 
I  will,  in  new  editions  of  the  work,  transfer  them 
to  the  evolutionary  period  of  growth.  There  they 
will  be  interesting  and  not  misleading. 

In  looking  through  the  pictures  embraced  in 
this  chapter,  American  readers  will  not  fail  to 
note  the  difference  between  the  equipment  of 
other  countries  and  their  own.  It  extends 
through  the  whole  category  of  countries.     There 


120 


RAILWAY  EQUIPMENT, 


is,  in  fact,  almost  as  much  difference  between 
the  locomotives  and  cars  used  by  different  peo- 
ples as  there  is  between  the  faces  of  those  who 


Outline  of  Italian  Inside  Connected    Passenger  Locomotive, 
truck,  it  will  be  observed,  has  a  rigid  frame. 


The   tender 


Outline  of  Italian  Inside  Connected  Freight  Locomotive. 


make  up  the  different  nations.  The  rolling  stock 
mankind  constructs  is  not  only  different  in  form, 
but  in  working  and  carrying  capacity.  The  sub- 
ject is  more 
interesting 
than  one 
would  sup- 
pose at  first 
glance.  De- 
tails are  strikingly  different.  Thus  in  the  case  of 
cars,  we  couple  them  together  automatically;  in 
other  countries  they  are  in  the  main  attached  to 
each  other  by  chains 
and  then  drawn 
tightly  together 
against  projecting 
bumj^ers.  The  wheels 
also  abroad,  as  a  rule, 
are  spoked,  while  with      ^^     ,•     r 

->■               '            ,  Egyptian  Locomotive.    This  passcT^u'er 

US    they    are,    in    the  engine  with  a  single  pair  of  driver^  is 

!•_]        J  suitable   only  for  very  light   work,  but 

mam,  solid,      in  many  possesses  remarkable  speed. 


LOCOMOTIVES  AND  CARS. 


121 


cases  there  are  only  four  wheels  under  foreign 
cars.  This  seems  strange  to  us,  but  is  not 
strange  when  we  remember  the  number  of 
Avheels  is  intended  to  be  proportionate  to  the 
load  to  be  carried/'' 


Locomotive  on  China  Railway,  the  locomotive  and  tender  being  built  in 
one  piece.  Diameter  of  cj'linders,  16  in. ;  stroke,  24  in. ;  diameter  of  driving 
wheels.  4  ft.;  total  wheel  base,  25  ft.,  6  in.;  weight  of  locomotive  in  working 
order,  117,700  pounds;  capacity  of  tender  tank,  1,550  gals. ;  fuel  capacity,  107 
cu.  ft. 

The  machinery  of  different  countries  used 
in  constructing  and  repairing  railway  locomo- 
tives and  cars  also  differs.  This  is  also  true  of 
skilled  labor,  the  experience  and  talent  of  build- 
ers, natural   facilities,  and   other   details.     The 

*  Differences  in  car  construction  and  use  are  practically 
without  limit.  Four-wlieelecl  freight  cars  are  as  common  in 
other  countries  as  eight-^vheeled  are  in  the  United  States.  We 
may  note  one  or  two  examples:  The  coal  cars  used  on  the  Lan- 
cashire ct  Yorkshire  Eailway  have  four  wheels  and  a  wheel- 
base  of  nine  feet.  They  weigh  eleven  thousand  two  hundred 
pounds  when  empty  and  thirty-three  thousand  six  hundred 
pounds  loaded.  On  the  Eastern  Eailway  of  France  the  coal  and 
coke  and  box  cars  have  four  wheels  with  a  wheel-base  of  twelve 
and  three-tenths  feet.  The  flat  cars  are  carried  on  six  wheels 
and  have  a  wheel-base  of  sixteen  and  four-tenths  feet.  The 
freight  cars  of  the  Saxon  State  railways  of  Germany  have  only 
two  axles,  and  weigh,  when  loaded,  about  thirty-five  thousand 
pounds.  The  maximum  train  load  on  the  East  Indian  Eailway 
is  one  thousand  tons.  The  freight  cars  have  four  wheels,  with 
a  wheel-base  of  eleven  and  one-half  feet. 


122 


RAILWAY  EQUIPMENT. 


intrinsic  merits  of  locomotives  differ  quite  as 
much  as  steamships  or  other  manufactured 
goods.  No  manufacturer  will,  however,  admit 
that  his  machines  are  inferior  to  the  best.  They 
are,  on  the  contrary,  of  the  highest  type  and 
the  best  to  be  had.  The  greater  the  talent 
and  experience  of  the  builder  and  the  more 
perfect  the  appliances  he  uses,  including  the 
labor  he  employs,  the  higher,  of  course,  will  be 
the  results  he  attains.  It  is  only  by  enquiry, 
observation  and  careful  comparisons  that  we  can 
form  an  intelligent   opinion    relatively   of    the 


Caledonian  Railway  Passenger  Locomotive,  Scotland.    This  engine 
is  designed  for  speed. 

merits  of  different  manufactories.  It  follows 
without  saying  that  the  machinery  of  rpJlway 
shops  must,  to  secure  results  at  the  lowest  cost, 
be  adequate  and  of  the  best  type,  and  so  grouped 
that  it  may  be  utilized  with  the  minimum 
expense  for  labor  and  the  handling  of  material. 
Repair  shops  require  to  be  easily  accessible  to 
the  lines  they  are  designed  to  accommodate,  but 
construction  shops  must,  to  obtain  the  best  re- 
sults, be  located  with  reference  to  supplies  and 
the  obtainment  of  labor  on  the  most  advan- 
tageous terms  and  W'ith  the  least  likelihood  of 
interruption    from   economic   causes.     In   many 


LOCOMOTIVES  AND  CARS. 


123 


instances  bounties  are  offered  hj  cities  and  towns 
to  influence  the  location  of  manufactories  of  loco- 
motives and  cars.  Generall}^  however,  it  may  be 
said  that  the  location  of  these  shops  is  not  pre- 


Mineral  Tank  Engine.  Scotland.  Engines  of  this  character  are  known  In 
America  as  "Saddle  Tank"  Engines.  Diameter  of  cylinders,  14  In.;  stroke, 
20  in. ;  diameter  of  driving  wheels,  44  in. ;  wheel  base,  7  ft. ;  weight  of  locomo- 
motive,  41,800  lbs. ;  tank  capacity,  750  gals. 

meditated.  Their  location,  like  their  growth,  has 
been  natural,  and  in  many  cases  not  thought  out 
in  advance.  Manufactories  which  thus  develop 
from  small  begin- 
nings are,  as  a  rule, 
m  ore  prosperous 
than  those  created 
in  their  entirety 
out  of  hand.  Suc- 
cess is  usually  the 
0  u  t  g  r  o  w^ t  h  of 
slow  and  natural 
growth,  and  this 
because  men  who 
grow  up  with  the 
affairs  of  a  great  business  are  more  competent  to 
handle  it  than  those  hired  to  meet  an  emergency. 


French  Locomotive  and  Tender,  for 
Switching  Purposes.  Diameter  of  cylinders, 
11.81  in.;  stroke.  14.17  in. :  diameter  of  driv- 
ing wheels,  3.5.43  in.;  weight  of  locomotive, 
32,600  lbs. ;  capacity  of  water  tank,  463  gals. ; 
capacity  of  coal  box,  1,236  lbs. 


124 


RAILWAY   EQUIPMENT. 


It  is  probable  that  the  conveniences  of  the 
railroad  shops  of  the  world  and  the  experience 
and  talent  of  those  who  manage  them  are  not 
materially  different  as  regards  efficiency  from 
other  manufactories.  Local  causes  intervene,  as 
in  other  cases,  to  heighten  or  lessen  results,  to 
spur  men  on  or  deaden  their  effort,  but  in  the 
long  run  the  fittest  survive  in  every  country, 
while  their  unfortunate  brethren  go  to  the  Avail. 

In  order  to  construct  cheaply,  manufacturers 
must   have  continuous  work  and   in   sufficient 


Russian  Freight  Locomotive.  Designed  for  heavy  work  on  steep  grades, 
where  conditions  of  bridges  make  it  necessary  to  distribute  the  load  on  the 
drivers  to  the  minimum.  Diameter  of  cylinders,  12.99  and  18.11  in.;  stroke, 
21.65  in.;  diameter  of  driving  wheels,  4.3.31  in.;  weight  of  locomotive,  92,075 
lbs.;  water  capacity  of  tender,  2,360.9  gals. ;  wood  capacity,  8,969  lbs.;  weight 
of  tender,  23,843  lbs. 

quantity  to  keep  the  maximum  amount  of  ma- 
chinery and  labor  actively  employed.  If  the 
work  is  irregular  or  insufficient  to  utilize  needed 
appliances,  there  is  waste  which  shows  itself  in 
the  increased  cost  of  the  product.  It  is  the  same 
with  the  builders  of  cars  and  locomotives  as  it  is 
Avith  the  operation  of  railroads.  A  company  that 
has  sufficient  traffic  to  keep  its  property  and  force 
profitably  occupied  can  do  business  at  less  cost 
and,  consequently,  Avith  greater  profit  than  a 
company  not  so  fully  engaged. 


LOCOMOTIVES  AXD  CARS. 


126 


As  a  rule,  manufacturers,  it  is  probable,  exer- 
cise about  equal  intelligence  in  the  care  of  their 
machinery  and   propert}^  in   the   selection  and 


Neilson's  Twin  Goods  Engine,  Scotland.  The  engine  is  designed  to  work 
equally  well  in  either  direction,  where  high  power  is  necessary  with  low  weight 
on  the  drivers.  The  use  is,  of  course,  special,  and  the  distances  to  be  run  by  it 
not  great.  Diameter  of  cylinders,  19  in.;  stroke,  :2G  in.;  diameter  of  driving 
wheels,  4  ft.,  2  in. ;  weight  of  each  locomotive,  87,000  lbs.;  capacity  of  water 
tanks,  3,000  gals. ;  coke  space,  384  cu.  ft. ;  weight  of  tender,  43,800  lbs. 

purchase  of  tools  and  material,  in  the  handling 
of  men  and  in  the  sale  of  goods,  but  there  must 
be  glaring  exceptions  to  the  rule.  These  latter 
represent  the  failures,  their  wastage  constituting 
the  difference  between  a 
loss  and  a  profit  on  the 
thing  manufactured. 

In  reference  to  methods 
of  business  pursued  b}' 
manufacturers,  they  are 
not,  of  course,  uniform. 
They  adapt  themselves 
to  the  circumstances  that 
surround  each  enterprise. 
Thus,  in  many,  indeed,  in 
the  majority  of  instances, 
the  work  is  carried  on  by 

day  labor.  In  some  cases,  on  the  other  hand,  it 
is  done  by  the  piece.  This  last  named  method 
is  the  more  desirable  for   both  employer  and 


Scotch  Tank  Engine,  for  light 
switching  purposes.  Diameter  of 
cylinders,  8  in. ;  stroke,  13  in. ;  di- 
ameter of  driving  wheels,  2  ft., 
0  in. ;  fixed  wheel  base,  5  ft. ;  tank 
capacity,  220  gals. ;  fuel  space,  11 
cu.  ft.;  weight  of  locomotive, 
17,580  lbs. 


126 


RAILWAY   EQUIPMENT. 


X 


emplo3'e,  when  practicable,  because  it  relieves 
the  emploj^er  of  undue  anxiety,  while  it  makes 
the  laborer  self-reliant  by  making  him  an  inde- 
pendent manufacturer. 

The  great  builders  of  the  world,  the  great  man- 
ufacturers of  railway  equipment  included,  possess 
the  highest  administrative  talent  which  can  be 
found — first,  in  the  builders  themselves,  and  after- 
ward in  those  they  employ.    In  regard  to  these 

latter,  they  have, 
as  a  rule,  grown 
up  with  the  work 
they  look  after, 
and  thus  under- 
stand its  every 
need. 
If  it  were  prac- 
ticable, great  benefits  to  railways  and  individual 
interests  would  be  derived  by  free  consultation 
among  those  who  build  equipment.  We  have 
such  organizations  among  those  who  maintain 
the  rolling  stock  of  railroads.     The  privilege  of 


Belgian  Locomotive  and  Tender  Combined. 


Belgian  Locomotive-Tender,  for  pushing  trains.  Diameter  of  cylinders  18.9 
inches;  stroke,  21.05  inches;  diameter  of  driving  wheels,  51.34  inches;  weight 
of  locomotive,  89,287  pounds;  capacity  of  water  tank,  1,533  gallons;  capacity 
of  coal  box,  3,531  pounds. 


LOCOMOTIVES  AND  CARS. 


12: 


inspecting  the  great  manufacturing  shops  of  the 
world  would,  of  itself,  be  a  source  of  enlighten- 
ment and  benefit.  We  ma}^  not  hope,  however, 
for  this  privilege.  Men  do  not  thus  divulge  the 
the  secrets  of  their  trade.  To  possess  a  method 
b}^  which  a  thing  can  be  lessened  in  cost  is  to 
possess  an  advantage  over  others  not  so  favored. 
It  is,  consequently,  jealously  guarded. 


French  Locomotive-Tender  (known  in  America  as  a  tank  locomotive). 


The  great  manufacturing  plants  of  the  w^orld, 
as  I  have  intimated,  were  started  by  practical 
men  and  developed  under  their  immediate  eye. 
With  the  lapse  of  time  most  of  these  men  have 
died,  or  through  the  development  of  business 
have  been  compelled  to  divide  their  responsibil- 
ities with  others.  Thus  a  new  element  has  been 
brought  into  the  field.  This  new  element  is  not 
only  intensely  practical,  but,  in  the  main,  highly 
educated  and  scientific  in  its  methods.  In  the 
sharp  competition  of  trade  personal  experience 
suffices.      All   the   appliances  which 


no   longer 


128  RAILWAY   EQUIPMENT. 

scientific  knowledge,  through  its  more  comprehen- 
sive grasp  of  affairs,  can  add  to  practice  must  be 
brought  into  requisition.  Where,  therefore,  for- 
merly no  scientific  man  was  to  be  found  in  con- 


Consolidation  Freight  or  Goods  Locomotive,  New  South  Wales.    Diam- 
eter of  cylinders,  21  inches;  stroke,  26  inches. 

nection  with  a  great  manufacturing  entei*prise, 
such  men  are  now  common,  and,  in  many  in- 
stances, constitute  the  governing  force. 

It  is  said  that  the  Germans,  whose  education 
is  less  and  less  directed  to  classical  things,  and 
more  and  more  to  modern  science,  have  done 
much  to  turn  the  attention  of  scholars  to  the 


Express  Locomotive  of  Chemins  de  fer  de  I'Etat  Beige.  It  will  be  observed 
that  the  plate  frame,  so  common  to  European  engines,  is  shown  here;  also,  a 
square  smokestack,  which  is  not  used  in  America. 

practical  needs  of  manufacture  and  the  wide 
field  therein  for  scientific  analysis  and  exposi- 
tion. It  is  owing  to  this  added  force  that  the 
manufacturers  of  Germany  have  been  able  to 


LOCOMOTIVES  AND  CARS. 


129 


take  the  great  forward  step  which  they  have.  It 
is  found  in  practice  that  the  enlistment  of  scien- 
tific men  in  the  great  manufacturing  plants  of 
the  world  does  not  reduce  the  influence  or  value 
of  other  kinds  of  labor,  either  in  management  or 
minor  details.  One  supports  and  supplements 
the  other.  The  first  named  is,  through  its  for- 
mulas, able  to  materialize  what  w^ould  otherwise 
be  lost  in  idle  speculations. 


Italian  Express  Locomotive. 

Education  has  thus  become  a  part  and  parcel 
of  trade  and  its  devotees  are  now  to  be  found 
among  machinists  and  master  mechanics,  as  well 
as  in  the  professional  walks  of  life.  Its  value 
will  prove  incalculable  to  trade,  as  its  possessor 
is,  by  reason  of  his  extended  research,  not  only 
able  to  grasp  the  idea  itself  but  the  collateral  ideas 
surrounding  it.  This  is  the  advantage  the  edu- 
cated man  has  over  the  uninformed;  the  trained 
mind  over  the  untrained  mind.  The  latter,  be- 
cause of  lack  of  extended  information,  is  only  par- 
tially informed,  and  when  an  idea  is  grasped  the 
thoughts  this  idea  should  suggest  are  not  always 

9    Vol,  1 


130 


RAILWAY   EQUIPMENT. 


awakened,  but  continue  to  lie  dormant.  It  is  in 
this  respect  that  educated  men  have  so  great  an 
advantage  in  practical  business  over  those  less 
favored,  and  it  is  this  that  is  leading  those  iden- 
tified with  the  manufacturing  interests  of  the 
world  to  seek  to  add  this  new  force  to  their 
business  affairs.  Nothing  but  good  can  come  of 
it,  for  the  further  the  educational  process  goes 
on  without  lessening  man's  interest  in  practical 
things,  or  his  inclination  to  work,  the  better  it 


Locomotive  and  Tender  Combined,  Berlin-Hamburg  Railroad.  Diameter  of 
cylinders,  16.53  inches;  stroke,  24.02  inches;  diameter  of  driving  wheels,  62. G8 
inches;  weight  of  locomotive,  TO, 765  pounds;  water  capacity,  1,188.78  gallons; 
coal  capacity,  2,712  pounds. 

will  be  for  the  industries  of  the  world,  and  the 
greater  the  number  of  comforts  that  will  be 
brought  within  the  reach  of  mankind. 

The  manufactories  of  locomotives  and  cars  m 
the  great  commercial  countries  of  the  world  are 
the  outgrowth  of  natural  causes — represent,  in 
fact,  an  evolution  co-existent  with  the  needs  of 
railway  transportation. 

The  first  manufactories  known  to  mankind  in 
the  earlj^  ages  of  the  human  race  are  believed  to 
have    corresponded    to    our    blacksmith    shops. 


LOCOMOTIVES  AND  CARS. 


131 


French  Locomotive  Tender  (i.  e.,  locomotive  and  tender  combined).  Di- 
ameter of  cylinder,  10.62  in.;  stroke,  18.11  in.;  diameter  of  driving  wheels,  35.82 
in. ;  weight  of  locomotive,  34,184  lbs. ;  water  capacity,  4G3  gals. ;  coal  capacity. 
l,76Glbs. 

They  were  isolated  and  were  carried  on  by  indi- 
vidual men.  There  was  little  demand  for  their 
product.  Their  work  related  in  the  main  to  the 
manufacture  of  arms  and  rude  appliances  of  car- 
riage. The  smith  worked  unaided  at  his  primi- 
tive forge,  but  his  occupation  was  surrounded  by 
superstitions  and  the  wonder  and  admiration  of 
the  people  among  whom  he  lived.  His  ability  to 
reduce  crude  ores  and  model  the  melted  metal 
afterward  into  necessary  and  ornamental  objects, 
seemed  to  the  rude  denizens  of  that  remote  age 
as  susceptible  of  accomplishment  only  through 
the  aid  of  the  gods.    He  was,  therefore,  if  not 


German  Kapid  Transit  Passenger  Locomotive,  with  Belpaire  type  of  fire 
box,  Warschau-Wien  Railroad.  Diameter  of  cylinders,  17  in.;  stroke,  22  in.; 
diameter  of  driving  wheels,  72  in.;  weight  of  locomotive,  73,719  lbs.;  water 
capacity  of  tender,  2,G14.7  gals.;  coal  capacity,  8,828  lbs.;  weight  of  tender, 
loaded,  59,500  lbs. 


132 


RAILWAY  EQUIPMENT. 


worshiped,  at  least  looked  upon  as  in  communi- 
cation with  the  Divine  Being,  and  those  sick  or 
distressed  eagerly  sought  his  advice,  as  we  do  the 
physician  or  philosopher.  He  was  the  first  car- 
riage builder.  It  was  he  who  constructed  the 
primitive  carts  of  ancient  Mesopotamia,  the  very 
beginnings  of  vehicles.  He  first  learned  the 
value  of  ores  and  how  to  melt  and  mold  them 
into  weapons  and  articles  of  daily  use.  One  of 
the  earliest  references  we  have  to  this  primitive 
manufacturer  is  in  the  Odyssey,  where  the  oracle 
describes  the  blacksmith  shop  with  its  bellows 


Coupled  Passenger  Bogie  Engine,  Scotland.  Diameter  of  cylinders,  17Yz 
in.;  stroke,  26  in. ;  diameter  of  driving  wheels,  6  ft.,  6  in.;  diameter  of  truck 
wheels,  3  ft.,  6  in. ;  weight  of  locomotive,  88,000  lbs.;  water  capacity  of 
tender,  2,550  gals. ;  weight  of  tender,  loaded,  71,680  lbs. 

and  quickening  fires,  near  which  the  body  of 
Orestes  will  be  found  to  lie.  The  Manufacturer, 
it  will  thus  be  seen,  is  at  once  the  oldest  and 
most  honorable  of  industrial  men.  When  letters 
were  unknown  and  the  arts  and  sciences  things 
yet  to  be  evolved,  he  was  consulted  and  honored 
as  a  man  whose  calling  was  potential  and  had 
the  favor  of  the  gods.  He  still  has  that  favor. 
In  the  evolution  of  time  he  has  again  become  a 
principal  factor  in  the  world's  affairs.  Ours  is 
the  age  of  manufactories.    In  early  times  the 


LOCOMOTIVES  AND  CARS. 


133 


Madras  Railway  Engine. 

builder  worked  alone  and  shaped,  unaided,  the 
complete  article.  Now  sixty  men  are  necessary 
to  make  a  shoe.  It  takes  an  army  of  men  to 
manufacture  a  car  wheel,  an  air  brake,  the  up- 
holstery of  a  car,  and,  similarly,  other  appurte- 
tenances  of  this  vehicle.  One  manufacturer 
gathers  from  other  manufacturers  the  articles  he 
needs  and,  putting  them  together  with  a  skill 
peculiar  to  himself,  makes  a  new  thing  which  he 
offers  for  sale.  Practices,  however,  differ  with 
manufacturers  in  this  respect,  particularly  those 
who  construct  railway  equipment:  one  will  him- 
self manufacture  many  parts  of  the  car  or  loco- 
motive that  another  will  buy  in  the  open  market. 
Thus  one  will  make  his  own  car  wheels  and  axles 


Breda,  Milan,  Ten-Wheeled  Locomotive.    The  cylinders  are  placed  behind 
the  engine  trucks,  thus  increasing  the  length  of  wheel  base. 


134  RAILWAY  EQUIPMENT. 

while  another  will  buy  them.  It  is  a  question  of 
business  interest  merely.  If  the  manufacturer 
can  buy  a  needed  article  in  the  market  for  less 
than  he  can  make  it  himself,  he  will  buy  it.  If 
there  is  profit  in  its  manufacture,  he  will  manu- 
facture it.  No  set  rule, 
therefore,  is  laid  down  or 
observed.  It  is  simply  a 
question  of  ways  and 
means — of  money    mak- 

Quaint  Locomotive  without  Smoke-     ^^S'  J-  hO      SltuatlOU       IS 

stack,  adapted  to  tunnel  or  miu-     gOVemod     by    many     COU- 
ing purposes.  ^.    .  ,,  ii      i. 

ditions,  among  them  that 
of  capital,  labor  facilities,  questions  of  supplies 
and  the  capacity  of  the  manufacturer.  This  last 
is  all  determining.  Thus  one  man  will  achieve 
success  and  fortune  while  another  w^ill  utterly 
fail.  One  man  will  be  able  to  manufacture  a 
great  number  of  articles  that  enter  into  the 
makeup  of  the  car  or  locomotive  he  builds, 
while  another,  because  of  his  limited  capacity 
for  affairs,  will  find  it  advisable  to  buy  every- 
thing he  can  in  the  open  market.  No  set  rule 
prevails  * 

Our  age  is  recognized  as  one  of  machinery.  It 
also  represents  a  more  accurate  division  of  labor 
than  formerly.     The  claim  is   often   made  that 


*  In  Appendix  B  to  this  volume  will  be  found  a  list  of  the 
different  parts  of  the  locomotive.  Those  parts  that  the  manu- 
facturers of  locomotives  buy  in  the  market  from  other  manu- 
facturers are  indicated  by  an  asterisk  (*) .  Of  course  this  rule 
does  not  prevail  in  every  case,  but,  generally  speaking,  it  does. 


LOCOMOTIVES  AND  CARS, 


135 


machinery  is  detrimental  to  labor.  This  cannot 
be  so  because  the  laboring  man  to-day  enjoys 
many  comforts  denied  him  heretofore.     He  may 


Scottish  Double  Header. 


be  more  dissatisfied  than  formerl}^  but  that  is 
because  he  is  more  exacting,  not  that  he  has  less. 
The  use  of  machinery  assures  the  laboring  man 
both  comfort  and  growth.  Let  him  not  be  impa- 
tient. It  is  an  old  and  true  saying  that  "Every- 
thing comes  to  him  who  waits."  It  should  also 
have  been    added  that  nothing  ever  comes  to 


Austrian  Locomotive.    The  square  sand  box  is  not  found  on 
American  locomotives. 

those  who  will  not  patiently  wait.  An  eminent 
writer/''  referring  to  the  social  question  that  sur- 
rounds the  use  of  machinery   in   our  day,  says 

*  Dr.  N.  D.  HiUis . 


136 


RAILWAY  EQUIPMENT. 


vei7  appropriately:  "Strangely  enough,  in  this 
era  when  tools  have  emancipated  men,  it  is  as- 
serted that  they  have  created  a  new  form  of 
servitude.  But  analj^zed,  the  statement  is  found 
to  be  far  from  the  truth  and  calculated  to  disturb 
the  happiness  of  the  workman  and  embitter  his 
life.  Tools  represent  the  uttermost  of  kindness 
and  divine  benefaction.  It  happens  that  very 
few  men  are  possessed  of  genius  and  greatness. 
There  are  a  few  ten-talent  men,  a  few  five-talent 


Belgian  Passenger  Locomotive  and  Tender.  Diameter  of  cylinders,  17  72 
In.;  stroke,  23.62  in.;  diameter  of  driving  wheels,  69.93  in. ;  diameter  of  truck 
wheels,  41.73  in.;  weight  of  locomotive,  97,003  lbs.;  capacity  of  water  tank, 
2,572  gals. ;  capacity  of  coal  box,  4,061  lbs. 


men,  more  two-talent  men,  while  most  of  all  rep- 
resent one  talent.  Now,  in  an  age  when  civiliza- 
tion has  become  complex,  and  highly  organized, 
the  great  multitudes  representing  one  talent  are 
in  danger  of  falling  out  of  the  race.  The  strong 
and  wise  advanced  so  swiftly  that  the  one-talent 
man  could  not  keep  up.  Nor  was  he  able  to  work 
with  sufficient  rapidity  to  hold  his  place.  Now, 
in  the  interest  of  this  one-talent  man,  inventors 
created  tools.    To  make  a  modern  shoe  requires 


LOCOMOTIVES  AND  CARS.  137 

sixty  different  workmen.  From  these  sixty  dif- 
ferent tasks  the  one-talent  workman  selects 
something  he  can  do,  and  doing  that  one  thing, 
he,  too,  becomes  a  creator,  retains  his  self-re- 
spect by  being  a  producer,  and  where  without 
tools  he  would  have  been  heart-broken,  with  his 
tools  he  stands  upon  his  own  feet  and  makes  his 
own  contribution  to  our  civilization.  Search  all 
modern  life  through  and  there  shall  not  be  found 


Austrian  Locomotive.  It  will  be  observed  that  the  Austrian  engines  have 
a  damper  attached  to  the  smokestack,  which  is  used  to  close  the  top  of  the 
stack  when  the  engine  is  standing  in  the  house,  thereby  preventing  cold  air 
from  passing  through  the  fire  box  and  flues  and  injuring  same. 

one  single  element  that  represents  a  form  of 
ministry  to  the  weak  and  the  poor,  that  is  so 
beneficent  as  the  fact  that  machinery  hath  so 
divided  toil  as  to  enable  the  humblest  man  to 
become  a  self-supporting  worker,  and  have  his 
own  place  in  civilized  life.  And  when  the  tool 
has  made  a  place  for  the  one-talent  man,  it  goes 
on  to  multiply  the  wages  his  father  enjoyed,  by 
means  of  which  he  purchases  many  things  he 
wants  that  were  before  denied  him.'' 


138  RAILWAY  EQUIPMENT. 

The  limited  demand  for  loccmotives  and  cars 
and  the  great  cost  of  the  plant  required  for  their 
construction  has  tended  to  restrict  the  number 
of  manufactories  of  this  kind.  It  would  be 
profitless  to  attempt  to  enumerate  those  in  oper- 
ation throughout  the  world,  although  the  num- 
ber is  not  large.  •  The  manufacturers  of  the 
different  countries  bear  substantiallj^  the  same 
relation  to  those  of  other  countries  that  manu- 
factures generally  do.  In  other  words,  where 
capital  seeks  emnloyment  in  the  manufacture  of 


Brooks'  Consolidation  Freight  Locomotive.  Diameter  of  cylinders,  20  in. ; 
stroke,  26  in.;  diameter  of  driving  wheels,  51  in.:  driving  wheel  base,  22  ft., 
8  in. ;  total  wheel  base,  50  ft.,  3  in.;  total  weight  of  engine,  158,750  lbs. 

miscellaneous  goods,  it  finds  a  proportionate  out- 
let in  the  construction  of  railway  equipment. 
Local  causes  affect  such  enterprises  and  where 
there  is  little  disposition  upon  the  part  of  a 
people  to  manufacture  goods,  we  find  few  or  no 
manufacturers  of  locomotives  and  cars.  In  the 
past  Great  Britain  has  had  substantially  as  many 
manufacturers  of  locomotives  and  cars  as  all  the 
other  countries  of  Europe  combined.  Her  great 
capital  and  genius  for  business  has  easily  enabled 
her  to  surpass  her  neighbors  in  this  direction, 
but,  while  Great  Britain  has  exceeded  all  other 


LOCOMOTIVES  AND  CARS, 


139 


Schenectady  (U.  S.  A.)  Locomotive.  Diameter  of  cylinders,  19  in. ;  stroke, 
24  in.;  diameter  of  drivini?  wheels,  78  in.;  weight  on  drivers,  77,000  lbs.; 
weight  of  locomotive  in  working  order,  110  tons;  driving  wheel  base,  8  ft.,  6 
in.;  total  wheel  base,  23  ft.,  11  in.;  tank  capacity, 4,500  gals. ;  weight  of  tender 
loaded.  98,000  lbs. 

nations  as  manufacturers  of  steam  locomotives 
and  cars,  Americans  have  been  by  far  the  greatest 
manufacturers  of  electrical  apparatus  relating  to 
carriage.  Their  plant  has  from  the  first  been 
extended  and  complete  so  far  as  science  has  been 
able  to  unravel  its  needs,  while  the  skill  of  their 
designers  and  mechanics  has  been  unequalled. 
This  superiority  has  been  so  manifest,  indeed, 
that  those  in  need  of  electrical  apparatus  in  every 
part  of  the  v^orld  have  sought,  by  preference, 
American  manufacturers  to  fill  their  requisitions. 


Schenectady  (U.  S.  A.)  Locomotive.  Diameter  of  cylinders,  18  in.;  stroke, 
34  in. ;  diameter  of  driving  wheels,  51  in. ;  driving  wheel  base,  11  ft. ;  weight  of 
locomotive,  99,000  lbs. ;  water  cai>acity  of  tender,  3,000  gals. ;  weight  of  tender, 
loaded,  61,300  lbs. 


140  RAILWAY  EQUIPMENT. 

Every  manufacturer  of  railway  equipment 
strives  for  something  that  v^ill  recommend  his 
w^ares  above  those  of  his  competitors.  Some  of 
these  devices  are  patented;  others,  again,  are  the 
outgrowth  of  combinations  not  always  subject  to 
exclusive  use.  The  particular  forms  or  devices 
which  different  manufacturers  make  use  of,  add 
greatly,  of  course,  to  the  interest  and  pictur- 
esqueness  of  the  subject.  A  collection  of  pictures 
portraying  every  kind  of  locomotive  (i.  e.,  loco- 


Schenectady  (U.  S.  A.)  Locomotive.  Diameter  of  cylinders,  22  in. ;  stroke, 
26  in. ;  diameter  of  driving  wheels,  55  in. ;  driving  wheel  base,  15  ft.,  6  in. ;  total 
wheel  base,  25  ft., 4  in.;  weight  on  drivers,  147,000  lbs.;  total  weight  of  locomo- 
tive, 175,000  lbs.;  water  capacity  of  tender,  4,000  gals.;  weight  of  tender, 
loaded,  92,900  lbs. 

motives  varying  in  some  particular,)  would  fill  a 
dozen  volumes,  and  this  without  adding  materi- 
ally to  the  interest  or  enlightenment  of  mankind. 
If  we  would  know  what  the  natives  of  Arabia 
look  like,  v/e  take  one  or  two  types  and  study 
them;  and  so  it  is  in  regard  to  locomotives.  One 
or  two  forms  are  generally  sufficient  to  illustrate 
the  peculiar  ideas  or  idiosyncrasies  of  a  manu- 
facturer. This  is  not  always  the  case,  however, 
and  for  that  reason,  in  portrayals  of  this  kind,  it 
is  difficult  to  know  where  to  draw  the  line.    I  set 


LOCOMOTIVES  AXD  CARS. 


141 


out  to  illustrate  every  form  of  locomotive  and 
car,  but  quickly  gave  up  the  task  as  impossible 
and  unprofitable.  Types,  I  am  assured,  are  all 
the  student  desires  to  see,  but,  while  I  have  been 
led  to  modify  my  original  purpose,  I  do  not  aban- 
don it  wholly;  I  restrict  my  portrayal  to  the  loco- 
motives and  cars  that  manufacturers  select  as 
affording  peculiar  interest  and  instruction,  or,  if 
not  of  great  practical  value,  then  of  curious 
interest,  such  as  might  be  gratified  by  travel 
abroad. 


Rogers'  Locomotive,  U.  S.  A. 

In  enumerating  the  manufacturers  of  locomo- 
tives and  cars,  the  railroad  companies  engaged 
in  this  business  must  not  be  forgotten.  In  the 
early  days  of  railway  enterprise,  in  the  United 
States  particularly,  many  companies  constructed 
plants  for  the  building  and  repairing  of  equip- 
ment. This  on  the  supposition  that  they  would 
build  their  own  rolling  stock.  For  a  considerable 
period  they  did  this,  but,  in  the  majority  of  cases, 
the  practice  was  soon  partially  or  wholly  discon- 
tinued. It  was  found  that  locomotives  and  cars 
could,  as  a  rule,  be  bought  of  private  builders  at 


142 


RAIL WA  Y  RQUIPMEXT. 


less  than  railroad  companies  could  construct 
them  for.  In  going  outside  their  legitimate  busi- 
ness of  manufacturers  of  transportation  it  was 


Schenectady  Locomotive.  Diameter  of  cylinders,  20  inches;  stroke,  28 
inches;  diameter  of  driving  wheels,  63  inches;  driving  wheel  base,  15  feet,  2 
inches;  total  wheel  base,  23  feet,  3  inches;  weight  on  drivers,  124,400  pounds; 
total  weight  of  locomotive,  144.200  pounds;  tank  capacity,  4,500  gallons; 
weight  of  tender  (loaded) ,  98,400  pounds. 

the  generax  experience  that  railroad  companies 
made  a  mistake.  Their  limited  demand  for  loco- 
motives and  cars,  and  their  method  of  organiza- 
tion, was  not  such  as  so  generally  enable  them 
to  carry  on  the  business  of  manufacairers  of 
goods  efficiently  or  economicall3^  I  do  not  say 
that  this  was,  or  is,  the  experience  of  every  com- 


Baldwin  Single  Driver  Passenger  Locomotive,  capable  of  great  speed. 
Diameter  of  cylinders,  high  pressure,  13  inches,  low  pressure,  22  inches; 
stroke,  26  inches;  diameter  of  driving  wheels,  SA^i  inches;  total  wheel  base, 
22  feet,  9  inches;  weight  on  drivers,  48,000  pounds;  total  weight  of  locomo- 
tive, 115,000  pounds. 

pany;  I  refer  to  the  majority  only.  To  be  suc- 
cessful as  a  manufacturer,  it  is  necessary  that  the 
manager  or  the  person  in  charge  shall  possess  the 


LOCOMOTIVES  AND  CARS.  143 

interest  and  the  authority  of  a  proprietor.  Above 
all,  he  shall  have  absolute  discretion  in  regard  to 
the  purchase  of  material,  employment  of  labor, 
erection  of  shops,  selection  of  machinery,  and 
other  particulars.  How  can  he  compete  with 
private  manufacturers  otherwise?  The  responsi- 
bility is  vast  and  indivisible  Such  an  organiza- 
tion is  not  in  unison  with  the  genius  of  railway 
administration,  however.  In  practice,  when  a 
railroad  company  manufactures  locomotives  and 


Baldwin  Locomotive  ("Atlantic  Type")-  The  trailing  wheel  behind  the 
drivers  reduces  the  weight  on  the  latter.  Diameter  of  cylinders,  high  pres- 
sure, 13  inches,  low  pressure,  22  inches;  stroke,  26  inches;  diameter  of  driving 
wheels,  84  inches,  diameter  of  truck  wheels,  36  inches;  total  wheel  base,  25 
feet,  6  inches;  weight  on  drivers,  77,600  pounds;  total  weight  of  locomotive, 
114,290  pounds:  water  capacity  of  tender,  4,500  gallons;  fuel  capacity  of  ten- 
der, 7  tons;  weight  of  tender  (loaded),  88,000  pounds. 

cars,  the  work  is  entrusted  to  a  subordinate,  who 
has  many  superiors  and  coadjutors,  who,  each  in 
turn,  have  much  to  say  about  the  way  business 
shall  be  carried  on.  The  result  is  the  energy  and 
interest  of  the  superintendent  in  cliarge  is  dulled 
and  responsibility  partially  or  wholly  lost.  It 
takes  too  long  to  act,  and  too  many  men  have  a 
voice  who  have  no  real  responsibility.  This  the 
great  majority  of  the  railroad  companies  quickly 
discovered,  and,  having  discovered  it,  made  haste 


144  RAILWAY    EQUIPMENT, 

to  abandon  the  field  to  private  enterprise,  using 
their  plants  thenceforth  merely  to  repair  and 
maintain  their  equipment. 

In  referring,  as  I  do,  to  a  railway  company's 
lack  of  success  as  a  manufacturer,  I  do  not  wish 
my  assertions  to  be  too  sweeping.  There  are 
many  things  railways  are  able  to  manufacture  at 
their  shops  successfully.  Moreover,  the  excep- 
tional ability  of  particular  men  connected  with 
such  organizations  is  often  such  that  they  are  able 
to  carry  on  the  business  of  manufacturing  loco- 


Richmond  Locomotive,  U.  S.  A. 

motives  and  cars  successfully  in  spite  of  all  the 
obstacles  in  their  way,  but  such  men  are  excep- 
tional, and  systems  can  not  safely  be  founded 
upon  them.  With  their  loss,  the  company  emplo}^- 
ing  them  lapses  into  the  condition  of  the  unfortu- 
nate majority.  If  a  railroad  company  would  enter 
the  field  as  a  manufacturer  of  eqaipment  it 
should  adopt  methods  of  organization,  governing 
its  shops  in  conformity  therewith.  Let  it  sepa- 
rate such  plant  from  its  plant  for  manufacturing 
transportation. 


LOCOMOTIVES  AND  CARS.  H6 

From  the  foregoing  it  will  be  seen  that  in 
enumerating  the  successful  manufacturers  of 
equipment  throughout  the  world  railroad  com- 
panies must,  generally  speaking,  be  eliminated. 
We  can  not  look  to  them  either  for  superior 
excellence  of  work  or  great  economy  of  execu- 
tion. It  is  to  private  manufacturers,  compelled 
to  compete  with  each  other  in  the  open  market, 
we  owe  the  fact  that  the  magnificent  loco- 
motives of  to-day  can  be  bought  for  one-half 
what  the  primitive  engines  of  prior  days  cost. 


Baldwin  Locomotives— the  big  and  the  little— the  St.  Bernard  and  the  Scottish 

Terrier. 

And  this  is  also  true  of  cars.  While  they  have 
been  strengthened  and  beautified,  and  their  car- 
rying capacity  greatly  increased,  the  price  per 
car  has  been  much  reduced.  These  gratifying 
results  are  due  to  the  competitive  struggle  of 
private  builders.  Their  efforts  in  this  direction 
have,  moreover,  had  a  good  effect  on  such  rail- 
road companies  as  manufacture  their  own  roll- 
ing stock,  by  reducing  its  cost  and  adding  to  its 
beauty  and  utility. 

In  reference  to  the  particular  merits  of  manu- 
facturers of  locomotives  and  cars,  it  is  probable 

lO    Vol.  1 


146 


RAIL  WA  Y   EQ  UIPMENT. 


that  the  same  degree  of  excellence,  or  lack  of  it, 
exists  in  this  field  of  industry  that  exists  in  other 
things  which  the  community  needs  and  which 
men  seek  to  make  money  out  of  by  supplying. 
Certainly  the  intense  rivalry  which  exists  among 
manufacturers  is  highly  beneficial  to  the  railroad 
companies;  it  sharpens  the  wits  of  the  manufac- 
turer and  makes  the  buyer  more  exacting.  Its 
effect  is  to  lessen  cost  while  adding  to  the  utility 


Compound  Locomotive- Auxiliary  Cylinders. 

This  is  said  to  be  the  first  engine  of  its  kind  constructed.  It  was  built 
by  Krauss  &  Co.,  Munich,  for  the  Bavarian  State  railroads.  Its  builders  aimed 
at  combining  the  chief  advantages  of  uncoupled  wheels  with  the  greater  trac 
tion  force  which  four-coupled  engines  afford  in  starting  and  in  mounting 
gradients,  while  further  they  desired  to  secure  a  more  perfect  adaptability  of 
the  engine  to  the  various  requirements  concerning  speed  and  power  that 
arise  during  ordinary  working  conditions.  Very  large  cylinders,  the  account 
further  states,  while  quite  desirable  in  cases  of  great  power  being  required  at 
low  speed  give  unfavorable  results  at  high  speed.  The  above  design,  it  is 
claimed,  enables  its  builders  to  adapt  the  dimensions  of  the  cylinders  to  the 
conditions  obtaining  at  high  speed,  while  for  low  speed  they  bring  into  use  an 
auxiliary  engine,  thus  doubling  their  tractive  power  when  needed,  and  exert- 
ing a  great  pull  with  early  cut-off.  The  engine  is  claimed  to  perform  satisfac- 
tory service. 


LOCOMOTIVES  AND  CARS. 


14:' 


Steam  Snow  Plow.  The  boiler  operating 
the  snow  plow  is  in  the  car  attached.  The 
rotary  motion  of  the  wheel  precipitates  the 
snow  through  the  opening  above. 


of  the  product.  The 
manufacturer  also 
strives  to  beautify  his 
goods  in  order  that 
they  may  be  more  at- 
tractive to  the  buyer 
and  the  customers  of 
the  latter,  and  he  se- 
lects  those  having 
natural  tastes  in  such 
matters,  to  plan  and 
adorn  his  goods  in 
order  that  he  may 
the  more  success- 
fully accomplish 
this.  In  America 
the  public  owe  the  superb  decorations  of  pas- 
senger cars  and  most  of  the  superior  c  nven- 
iences  of  travel  to  the  Pullman  and  Wagner  com- 
panies. They  are  specialists  and  keep  in  their 
employ  men  who  make  a  study  of  car  construc- 
tion and  decoration,  and  so,  little  by  little,  have 
advanced  in  their  calling,  until  the  work  they 
produce  appears  perfect  in  beauty  and  adap- 
tability. Indeed, 
they  have  made 
travel  so  comfort- 
able that  a  large 
part  of  the  com- 
munity enjoys 
Light  Push  Car.  greater  luxuries 

when  occupying  their  cars  than  when  at  home. 


148 


RAIL  WAY   EQ  UIPMEX2 . 


Hand  Car. 


Furthermore,  they  have  made  travel  so  much  a  de- 
light that  those  who  possess  in  any  degree  the  rov- 
ing instinct,  wish  to  travel 
all  the  time.  No  such  state 
of  affairs  existed  in  the  days 
of  stages  and  the  eras  prior 
thereto.  Modern  travel  has 
added  a  new  wonder  to  the 
world's  list.  Its  luxuries 
embrace  everything  the 
most  fastidious  can  ask. 
These  luxuries  are,  without  doubt,  destined  to 
become,  more  and  more,  common;  the  drawing- 
room  and  palace  car,  with  its  compartments  and 
state-rooms,  the  luxuriant  service  of  the  dining- 
car,  the  buffet  smoker,  and  other  coiiveniences 
and  comforts  of 
travel,  are  destined 
to  soon  come  with- 
in the  reach  of  a 
majority  of  man- 
kind instead  of  a 
limited  few,  as  at 
present.  This  is 
what  the  improved 
appliances  of  the 
future,  brought  about  by  the  sharp  wits  of  com- 
petitive endeavor  among  manufacturers  and  car- 
riers, have  in  store  for  mankind. 

The  differences  in  the  customs  of  different 
countries  in  regard  to  humdrum  things  are  ob- 
servable in  their  contributions  to  the  development 


Track  Inspection  Car. 


LOCOMOTIVES  AND  CARS. 


149 


Velocipede  Hand  Car. 


of  railway  carriage.  The  faces  of  men  do  not 
differ  more  than  do  the  details  of  railway  car- 
riage, albeit  the  differences 
are  not  radical.  The  wealth, 
culture  and  surroundings  of 
nations  influence  their  con- 
structive ideas  in  this  field  as 
they  do  in  that  of  buildings 
and  other  concomitants  of 
life.  The  illustrations  em- 
bodied herein  show  this.  Utility  is,  however,  the 
predominant  idea  with  all.  Ideality  does  not 
enter  into  the  subject  or  only  in  a  minor  sense. 
HoAV  best  to  meet  the  re- 
quirements of  the  service 
is  the  all-absorbing 
thought  with  every  build- 
er. The  problem  he  sets 
himself  to  solve  is  to  con- 
struct a  machine  that  will 
do  a  given  amount  of 
work  at  the  least  cost  for 
the  machine  itself ;  that 
will  be  economical  above 
all  others,  according  to 
the  work  it  performs,  as 
regards  fuel  and  other 
incidentals  which  enter 
into  its  operations;  that 
shall  be  durable  and 
trustworthy ;  that  can  be  easily  operated  ;  that 
will  only  require  the  minimum  of  repairs ;  that 


Swinging  or  Dumping  Oar.  Ca- 
pacity, 15  bushels;  weight,  7  cwt. 
It  is  light  enough  to  be  handled  by- 
two  persons  and  short  enough  so 
it  will  turn  on  a  small  table  or 
short  radius.  It  is  used  in  coal 
and  ore  mines  to  haul  ore  to  the 
surface  and  permit  dumping  at 
end  of  car. 


150 


RAILWAY  EQUIPMENT. 


will  not  prove  destructive  to  the  track,  and, 
finally,  that  will  be  popular  with  those  w^ho  have 
to  handle  it,  on  the  footboard,  in  the  roundhouse 
and  at  headquarters. 

In  looking  over  the  accompanying  illustra- 
tions, the  reader  cannot  but  be  impressed  with 
the  beauty  of  the  locomotive  considered  purely 
as  a  work  of  art.  Who,  moreover,  has  ever 
stood  beside  a  modern  locomotive  without 
emotion;  without  admiration  for  its  beautiful 
lines;  its  mammoth  proportions,  and  magnificent 

possibilities?  What,  for 
instance,  can  be  more 
beautiful  than  the  loco- 
motive of  the  Chemins  de 
fer  De  L'Etat  Beige  por- 
trayed elsewhere  herein? 
It  is  a  poem  in  iron, 
wherein  artistic  lines  and 
proportions  are  faithfully 
observed  throughout. 
Americans  will  especially 
note  this  engine  because 
of  its,  to  them,  novel  fea- 
tures. The  Belgian,  on  the  other  hand,  will  be 
similarly  impressed,  it  is  probable,  with  the 
American  locomotive,  because  of  its,  to  them, 
peculiar  features. 

The  characteristics  of  a  people  may  in  a  meas- 
ure be  traced  in  their  locomotives.  Is  not  the 
strong  personality  of  the  Englishman  and  the 
Scotchman  noticeable  in  the  machines  they  build? 


French  Dumpiug  Car  for  earth- 
works and  mines.  Length,  10  ft., 
6  in. ;  height  of  sides,  2  ft.,  1  in. ; 
weight,  7,950  pounds;  load,  17,700 
pounds.  It  is  so  arranged  as  to 
dump  its  load  to  the  side  without 
shoveling.  The  side  door  is 
hinged  at  the  bottom  edge  and 
held  upright  by  hooks. 


J^ 


LOCOMOTIVES  AND  CARS. 


151 


Belgian  car  for  transportation  of 
casks.  Length,  7  ft.,  7  in. ;  weight, 
1,230  lbs.;  load,  2  tons. 


The  lines  are  simple  y^t 
graceful,  and  strength  and 
eflQcacy  are  apparent  in 
every  detail  of  their  work. 
Who  could  doubt  the  na- 
tionality of  the  builder 
of  the  Neilson  machine? 
Nothing  could  be  more 
symbolical  of  power  than  this  magnificent  piece 
of  mechanism.  The  beautiful  Breda  engine  of 
Milan,  like  the  French  machines,  represents  very 
truthfully  the  artistic  culture  and  dilettante 
taste  of  an  extremely  refined  and  highly  bred 
people.  On  the  other  hand,  locomotives  con- 
structed in  different  countries  look  so  much  alike 
sometimes  that  one  is  inclined  to  think  at  first 
glance  they  were  built  by  the  same  man.  The 
similarity  is  the  genius  of  one  builder  reflected 
in  another. 


Devices,  operated  from  the  locomotive,  for  unloading  ballast.  One  of  the 
above  devices  is  used  when  it  is  desired  to  unload  material  uniformly  on 
either  side  of  the  car.  The  other  is  used  where  it  is  desired  to  unload  wholly 
on  one  side. 

No  engine  in  the  world  is  superior  to  the 
American  machine  in  its  combination  of  desira- 
ble qualities,  such  as  economy  of  operation, 
power,    speed,    simplicity  and    effectiveness    of 


152 


RAILWAY  EQUIPMENT. 


Brazilian  Flat  Car,   Length  13  ft.,  6  in. ;  weight, 
5^  tons ;  load,  6  tons. 


working,  durability  and  reasonableness  of  first 
cost.  The  necessi- 
ties of  railway  op- 
erations in  Amer- 
ica, as  I  have  had 
occasion  to  notice 
elsewhere,  have 
been  such  as  to 
compel  manufacturers  to  build  locomotives  and 
cars  that  would  stand  rough  and  crooked  roads, 
and  in  the  case  of  engines,  that  would  haul  great 
loads  at  a  high  rate  of  speed,  and,  finally,  that 
would  come  within  the  means  of  companies  with 
very  little  money  or  credit.  This  much  may  be 
said  without  disparaging  the  locomotives  of  other 
countries.  American  manufacturers  have  no  rea- 
son to  fear 
comparison 
in  any  re- 
spect with 
the  builders 
of  Gr  r  e  a  t 
Britain,  Bel- 
gium, Ger- 
many, France,  Italy,  and  the  great  centers  of  the 
world  for  the  construction  of  railway  roiling 
stock. 

In  connection  with  the  accompanying  pictures 
of  locomotives  and  cars,  such  statistics  are  given 
as  space  permits  or  I  have  been  able  to  procure. 
The  dimensions  given  of  locomotives  indicate,  in 
a  general  way,  the   capacity   of    the   machine. 


Wurtemberg  Car  with  movable  sides  and  extremities. 
Length.  32  ft.,  10  in.;  height  of  sides,  11  in.;  weight,  7 
tons;  load,  12  tons. 


LOCOMOTIVES  AND  CARS. 


153 


They  are  such  as  to  enable  the  reader  to  form 
an  approximate  estimate  of  the  capability  of  the 
locomotive.  I  have  not  attempted  to  describe 
each  locomotive  in  detail,  because  nothing  that 
could  be  said  would  add  materially  to  the  inform- 
ation the  pictures  themselves,  with  the  accom- 
panying description,  affords. 


standard  American  Flat  Cars.  Length,  34  ft.  each:  capacity,  60,000  lbs.  Thie 
above  cars  are  loaded  with  timber.  In  some  instances  three  cars  are  Beces- 
sary  to  support  a  load.  The  method  of  loading  flat  cars  in  America  Is  pre- 
scribed by  the  Master  Car  Builders'  Association. 

A  locomotive  is  a  living  thing,  resembling  in 
its  defects  the  man  who  builds  it.  These  defects, 
like  those  in  man,  can  only  be  determined  after 

trial.  Admir- 
ers may  por- 
tray to  us  the 
merits  of  some 
one  they  like, 
but  whom  we 
have  not  seen, 
but  it  is  only 
when  we  look  the  person  in  the  face  that  we 
become  really  interested;  and  preparatory  com- 
mendation we  observe  goes  for  naught  if  his 
appearance  does  not  please  us.  On  the  other 
hand,  if  we  like  his  looks,  we  still  defer  coming 
to  a  decision  until  we  see  how  he  will  act.  This 
is  as  true  of  a  locomotive  as  it  is  of  a  man — with 


American  Steel  Flat  Car.    Weight,  25,900  lbs. 
capacity,  40  tons. 


154 


RAILWAY   EQUIPMENT. 


the  odds  in  favor  of  the  locomotive.     The  poorest 
of  these  machines  always  does  the  best  it  can. 
This,  alas!  is  not  true  of  men  in  every  case.    Rail- 
way   men 
cannot  lead 
themselves 
to  look  up- 
on the  loco- 
motive as  a 
"  "'  mere   me- 

View  of  the  under  side  of  American  Steel  Flat  Car.  .  , 

The  under  framing  of  other  steel  cars  of  the  manufac-       C  11  a  U  1  C  a  1 
turer  is  the  same  as  the  above.  ,-,,  a  f  ll  1  11  P 

Those  in  other  walks  of  life  in  a  measure  partici- 
pate with  them  in  this. 

Who,  that  has  ever  seen  a  locomotive  under 
headway,  or  as  it  stopped  from  its  flight,  has  not 
felt  that  it  was  a  living  thing  that  gloried  in  its 
magnificent  performance?  It  seems  at  such  a 
time  to  stand  upon  the  track  under  our  admiring 
eyes  with  the  glad 
consciousness  which 
a  gladiator  might  pos- 
sess when  his  skill 
and  strength  were 
admired  and  com- 
mented upon.  Noth- 
ing in  the  world  is 
more  inspiring  than 
the  flight  of  a  railway 
train.     Stand  near  to 

it  and   get  its  full    in-  American  Logging  Truck. 

spiration,  more  than  half  made  up  of  terror,  as 


LOCOMOTIVES  AND  CARS. 


155 


it  rushes  onward.  Repetition  will  not  dull  the 
impression  nor  lessen  the  admiration.  The  cold- 
est man  at  such  a  time  has  difficulty  in  restrain- 
ing his  enthusiasm. 

Elsewhere  I  have  explained  the  locomotive  in 
detail  and  have  commented  on  the  shop  arrange- 
ments of  railroads.  I  have  designed  this  chapter 
to  be  a  panoramic  view,  so  to  speak,  of  the  equip- 
ment of  railroads,  or  such  varieties  thereof  as 
will  enable  the  reader  to  form  an  idea  of  its 
extent  and  versatility.    Men  build  locomotives 


Austrian  Car. 


and  cars  for  particular  purposes,  much  as  they 
breed  horses.  One  locomotive  will  be  built  to 
haul  a  maximum  load  at  a  minimum  rate  of 
speed;  another  to  draw  a  similar  load  at  the 
highest  rate  of  speed;  another  to  draw  a  light 
load  at  a  high  rate  of  speed;  another  to  carry 
bundles,  so  to  speak,  that  is,  to  do  the  switching 
(shunting)  about  passenger  yards;  another  to  do 
similar  work  about  freight  yards  where  heavy 
loads  have  to  be  moved  quickly.  There  is  equal 
or  greater  adaptability  in   the   construction   of 


156 


RAILWAY  EQUIPMENT. 


Half  Box  Car  with  Tubular  Frame,  Belgium, 
Length,  33  ft.,  5  in. ;  height  of  sides,  36  in. ;  weight. 
lOX  tons;  load,  2914  tons. 


cars.    Every  great  manufacturer  is  prepared  to 

answer  every 
demand  that 
may  be  made 
upon  him.  He 
asks  what  is  re- 
quired and  in 
return  makes 
his  suggestions. 

His   adaptability   is   great  in   every  emergency, 

and  his  expedients  as  exhaustless  as  those  of  an 

inn-keeper. 

In  portraying  the  vehicles  of  railroads  1  do  not, 
it  is  proper  to  say  in  passing,  attempt,  except  in 
a  very  limited  way,  to  portray  those  used  for 
handling  freight,  baggage,  express,  mail  and 
other  traffic  about  stations.  These  are  much  the 
same  in  all  countries  and  do  not  in  any  sense 
belong  exclusively  to  railway  carriage,  as  similar 
vehicles  are  used  wherever  parcels  are  handled. 

The  evolution  of  vehicles  has  for  the  moment 
reached  its  highest  development  in  the  cars  of 
railroads,  and 
among  these  I  class 
both  passenger  and 
freight.  They  are  at 
once  more  capa- 
cious, more  luxuri- 
ous and  in  every 
way  better  adapted  to  rapid  and  safe  carriage 
than  anything  before  conceived  by  man.     They 


Victorian  Railway  Gondola  Car.    Length, 
21  ft.,  4%  in. ;  load,  22.400 lbs. 


LOCOMOTIVES  AND  CARS. 


157 


are  also  more  costlj^:  a  vehicle  freighted  with 
lives  or  valuable  property  which  it  is  designed 
to  haul  across  the  country  at  the  rate  of  sixty 
miles  an  hour  must,  it  is  apparent,  be  very 
carefully  constructed  and  of  the  best  material. 
In   view   of   this 


necessity,  it  would 
seem  that  in  this 
age  of  iron  and 
steel  that  one  or 
both  of  these  ma- 
terials would  be 
used  exclusively 
in  building  cars. 
Yet  such  is  not 
the  case,  except  in 
a  limited  way. 
Inventors  have 
devised  and  pat- 
ented iron  and  steel  cars  and  manufacturers  have 
erected  plants  to  build  them,  but  the  demand  for 
their  product  is  qualified  to  such  an  extent  as  to 
throw  doubt,  if  not  distrust,  for  the  moment,  on 
their  ventures.  This  hitch  is,  however,  thought 
to  be  temporary  oxi\j.  It  is  a  common  belief 
that  in  the  end  railway  cars  will  be  built  of  iron 
or  steel.  "Up  to  the  present  time  there  has  not 
been  any  iron  cars  constructed  that  have  met 
with  very  much  success.  I  have  made  a  personal 
examination  of  these  cars  and  there  certainly  is 
much  in  their  construction  that  is  meritorious. 
They  are  as  a  rule  constructed  in  suecial  shapes, 


Varsovie-Yienna  Railroad  Car,  Length, 
19  ft.,  8  in.;  height  of  sides,  3  ft.,  6  in.; 
weight,  7  tons;  load,  1214  tons.  The  reader 
will  not  have  failed  to  notice  the  care  taken 
to  protect  the  brakemen  and  attendants  by 
awnings  over  the  brakes,  or  shelter,  as  in  the 
above  instance.  The  caboose  car  which  ac- 
companies every  freight  train  in  the  United 
States,  illustrated  elsewhere,  is  not  generally 
used  abroad. 


158 


RAIL WA Y  EQUIPMENT. 


however,  and  protected  by  letters  patent,  as  is 
also  the   machinery   for  forming  these   shapes. 

This  fact  works  very 
strongly  against  the 
universal  use  of  the 
car.  Among  their 
features  they  have 
constructed  the  bot- 
tom framing  of  a 
flat  car  of  standard 
shapes  consisting  of 
channel  irons,  iron  beams,  etc.  I  was  very  favor- 
ably impressed  with  this.  There  are  a  number 
of  iron  cars  now  being  perfected  which  are  being 
watched  with  a  great  deal  of  interest.  I  do  not 
think  that  the  time  will  come  in  the  very  near 


Belgian  Railroad  Half  Box  Car.  Length, 
17  ft.,  5  in.;  height  of  sides,  5  ft.,  3  in.; 
weight,  SYz  tons;  load,  10  tons. 


Wurtemberg  Railroad  Car.    Length,  33  ft.,  8  in. ;  height  of  sides,  16  in.; 
weight,  9Yz  tons;  load,  15  tons. 

future  when  an  all  iron  car  will  be  used,  but  I 
think  the  coming  car  will  be  constructed  of  iron 
in  combination  with  wood.  Wood  will  be  used 
for  floors,  side,  end,  and  roof  framing;  iron  will 
be  used  for  the  sills  and  underneath  framing  of 
the  car."* 


C.  A.  Schroyer, 


LOCOMOTIVES  AND  CARS. 


159 


In  the  art  of  carriage  and  in  the  uses  of  com- 
mon carriers,  the  cars  of  railways  especially  en- 
gage onr  attention.  It  is  from  their  contents  that 
transportation  companies  derive  their  revenue. 
The  various  patterns  that  have  been  devised  to 
meet  particular  needs,  while  not  so  great  in 
number  or  varied  in  construction  as  those  we 
see  on  our  highways,  are  yet  very  numerous. 
Should  their  use  continue  as  long  as  road  car- 
riages have  existed,  they  may  equal,  if  not  ex- 
ceed, the  latter  in  variety  and  picturesqueness. 


Iron  Car.    Length,  23  ft.,  4  in. ;  height  of  sides,  3  ft.,  11  in.; 
weight,  8  tons ;  load,  15  tons. 

All  kinds  of  vehicles  are  of  comparatively  modern 
invention.  Man  existed  for  many  ages,  indeed,  for 
incalculable  cycles  of  time,  in  a  savage  and  semi- 
savage  state  before  there  was  need  of  a  vehicle  or 
its  use  became  possible.  One  of  the  first  refer- 
ences we  have  to  it  is  in  connection  with  the 
Aryans,  before  their  final  separation,  as  I  have 
noticed  elsewhere  in  connection  with  the  evolu- 
tion of  transportation.*  These  interesting  people 
made  a  double  use  of  their  vehicles,  namely, 
for  carriage  and  a  house  in  which  to  live.     They 

*  See  volume  "  Origin  and  Evolution  of  Transportation." 


160 


RAIL  WA  Y   EQ  UIPMENT. 


were,  it  is  probable,  great  carts,  such  as  still  may 
be  found  among  the  Scythians  of  Asia.    Once  the 

need  of  a  wagon  was  felt, 
its  evolution  kept  pace 
with  man's  progress,  but 
it  was  not  until  men  had 
advanced  far  on  their 
road  that  they  could  have 
had  uses  for  such  a  thing. 
It  presupposes  compara- 
tively high  development 
to  conceive  of  the  manu- 
facture of  a  vehicle,  not- 
withstanding its  simplicity.  The  JSTorth  Ameri- 
can savage,  while  he  has  for  four  hundred  years 
been  familiar  with  the  wagon  of  the  white  man, 
has  as  yet  never    attempted    its   construction. 


Italian  Half  Box  Car.  Length,  14 
ft.,  9  in.;  height  of  sides,  36  in.; 
weight,  3  tons;  load,  8  tons.  This 
car,  while  supplied  with  a  ridge 
pole,  has  no  roof.  It  thus  becomes 
what  is  known  in  the  United  States 
as  a  gondola  car,  and  in  other  coun- 
tries as  a  half  box  car. 


Standard  American  Gondola  Car.  Weight,  31  000  lbs. :  load,  30  tons.  It  is 
used  for  transporting  such  freight  as  coal,  sand,  gravel,  crushed  rock  and 
lumber.  J.i  is  constructed  in  all  respects  the  same  as  a  flat  car.  The  sides 
in  many  cases  can  be  readily  removed  thus  enabling  the  car  to  be  used  as  a 
flat  car  or  gondola,  as  the  exigencies  of  business  require. 

If  these  savages  cannot  in  so  long  a  period  of 
time  adopt  an  idea  that  is  constantly  before 
their  eyes,  how  incalculable  must  have  been  the 
period  required  for  primitive  man  to  have  con- 
ceived the  idea  of  carriage  and  to  have  put  it 


LOCOMOTIVES  AND  CARS. 


IGl 


into  practical  shape.  Cultivated  men  and  women 
learn  quickly  but  the  savage  learns  not  at  all,-  or 
so  imperceptibly  as  to  escape  notice  for  long 
periods  of  time.  A  savage  will  look  upon  a  pic- 
ture of  a  house  turned  bottom  side  up  without 
being  conscious  that  there  is  anything  wrong 
about  it,  although  he  himself  for  the  moment 
may  be  surrounded  by  actual  houses.  His  in- 
telligence is  so  slight  as  not  to  be  able  to  grasp 
an  idea  even  when  presented  to  him  in  this  most 


Ce-r  for  the  Carriage  of  Sugar  Cane.    Length,  13  ft.,  1  in. ;  height  of  sides,  3  ft., 
4  in. ;  weight,  1,570  lbs. ;  load,  4,480  Ihs. 

primitive  of  forms.  Such  vacuity  can  hardly  be 
conceived  of  but  it  is  the  natural  condition  of 
the  savage  mind,  or  absence  of  mind.  Man  origi- 
nally had  no  greater  ability  to  think  consecu- 
tively than  the  dog  has,  but  he  had  greater 
capacity  for  development.  Hence  his  emergence 
from  savagery,  and  his  busying  himself  in  per- 
fecting machinery  whereby  he  might  transport 
himself  and  his  family  and  his  rude  effects  from 
place  to  place  across  the  vast  plains  of  the  then 
primitive  world.  This  was  the  beginning  of 
n  Vol.  1 


162 


RAIL WA Y   EQUIPMENT. 


vehicles.  Afterward,  with  slight  alterations,  he 
re-adapted  them  for  purposes  of  war  and  the 
shase.    His  device  was  very  simple,  a  wooden 

axle,  at  either  end  of 
which  a  rude  wheel 
revolved.  A  plat- 
form resting  on  the 
axle  afforded  the  oc- 
cupant of  the  vehi- 
cle a  footing.  It  was 
afterward  enlarged 
so  as  to  hold  two 
persons,  besides  the 
driver.  It  had  no 
seat.  The  intro- 
duction of  this  last 
device  indicated 
the  growing  effem- 
inacy of  men  and  their  downward  step  in  physical 
strength.  However,  at  first  a  luxury,  the  seat 
had  no  sooner  been  evolved  than  it  became  a 
necessity.  It  was  but  a  step  from  the  cart  to 
the  wagon,  from  two  wheels  to  four.  With  the 
wagon,  good  roads 
became  more  than 
ever  a  necessity. 
Such  a  vehicle  was 
less  able  to  overcome 
obstacles  than  the 
cart.  Its  friction  was 

Srreater         Moreover  Baume-Marpent's  iron  car.     Length, 

^  .  *  .  .     *       14  ft.,  9  in.;  height  of  sides,  2ft.,  11  in.; 

With   advancing  civ-       weight,  6/2  tons;  load,  10  tons. 


Ore  Car.  It  is  also  adaptable  for  many 
other  purposes,  as  will  be  apparent.  It  is 
unloaded  into  bins  underneath  the  track  or 
divergent  therefrom  by  traps  in  bottom  of 
car.  Length,  22  ft. ;  height  of  body,  4  ft.,  10 
in. ;  weight,  24,000  lbs. ;  capacity,  60,000  lbs. 
This  car  is  a  favorite  means  of  transporting 
ores  to  the  various  ports  throughout  the 
country  to  be  loaded  on  to  vessels.  The  car 
is  run  on  the  dock  from  whence  the  vessels 
are  laden,  either  directly  from  the  car  or 
bins  attached  to  the  dock. 


LOCOMOTIVES  AND  CARS.  163 

ilization,  people  desirea  to  hasten  their  move- 
ments. To  do  this  they  were  compelled  to  build 
better  roads  and  to  improve  the  running  gear  of 
their  wagons.  The  Romans  practiced  the  art  of 
road  building  to  a  greater  extent  than  their  neigh- 
bors or  predecessors.  They  not  only  perfected 
great  military  and  commercial  highways,  but 
made  considerable  use  of  a  species  of  rail 
upon  which  the  wheel  traveled  and  which,  by 
natural  evolution,  has  become  the  rail  of  our 
railroads.  It  was  not  then  in  the  shape  it  is  at 
present,  nor  indeed  so  ef- 
fectively upheld,  but  the 
idea  of  a  rail  resting  upon 
supports  and  that  should 
form  a  bed  for  the  wheel 

(with      the      minimum       of         ^^^,   ^ar.    Victonau    Railway. 

friction)  was,  so  far  as  I    Length, 21  a;  weight,  10,975 ibs.; 

n      1      -i  1  1      load,  10  tons. 

am  aware,  nrst  developed 

during  the  Roman  period.  The  idea,  it  is  prob- 
able, did  not  originate  with  them.  They  stole 
it,  we  may  confidently  believe,  as  they  did  every- 
thing else  they  possessed,  save  the  art  of  war, 
from  their  more  versatile  neighbors.  The 
thought  originated  not  with  a  Roman,  we  may 
believe,  but  with  some  cmnning  Semite  or  Greek. 
But  wherever  it  originated,  it  was  a  step  in  the 
direction  of  the  railroad  of  to-day.  For  many 
hundreds  of  years  it  was  impossible  to  make 
use  of  the  device  except  in  a  limited  way  in 
connection  with  the  hauling  of  coal  and  ores 
for  short  distances.      With  the  advent  of  the 


164 


RA IL  WA  Y  EQUIPMENT. 


locomotive,  it  was  found,  after  making  many 
changes  and  improvements,  to  be  what  our  great 
modern  thoroughfare  needed  to  support  the  tre- 
mendous loads  it  was  called  upon  to  carry. 

We  are  still  in  the  transition  period  of  railway 
construction.    But  great  progress  has  been  made. 

The  vehicles  which 
in  America  at  first 
carried  only  a 
dozen  passengers, 
or  were  limited  to  a 
few  tons  of  freight, 
now  carry  sixty 

French  Reservoir   Car   for   Liquids.     (The  "paSSenS'erS     and 

tank  car  used  in  the  United  States  is  generally  ^ 

simUar  to  this.)     Length  of  tank,  23  ft.,  4  in.;  f  O  r  t  y       t  O  U  S       O  f 

diameter,  5ft.,  4in.;  weight  of  car,  Sli  tons;  f  .p-     1  4-     ^^p^.p^fivp, 

load,  10  tons.     This  peculiar  form  of  car  was  J-J-Clgiit,  iCtSpci^bi  v  c 

suggested,  in  the  first  instance,  by  the  needs  1  y        Not    Oulv  tllis 

of  the  petroleum  traffic.     A  vehicle  was  needed  ,  ,  ■■  ,  ,      ,' 

that  could  be  easily  loaded  andunloaded,  that  but  tllOy  arO  liaulod 
was  strong,  and  the  contents  of  which  could  ofl£\r»  f< 

not  be  easily  ignited  by  flying  sparks  or  other  aCrOSS    lUe    COUU try 

c^"^®-  at  a  rate  of  speed 

believed  to  be  impossible  at  first;  and  this,  with- 
out perceptible  risk  or  deterioration.  To  this 
height  has  the  art  of  constructing  vehicles  and 
roadways  been  carried.  At  one  time  sixteen 
by  twenty-four  inch  cylinder  engines  handled  a 
large  portion  of  the  traffic  in  the  United  States, 
while  on  heavy  grades  forty-five  ton  ten- wheel 
engines  and  fifty-ton  consolidation  engines  were 
employed.  Twenty  thousand  pounds  was  the 
maximum  freight-car  load.  Cars  having  a 
capacity  of  eighty  thousand  pounds  have  since 
been  put  into  effective  use,  while  the  modern 


LOCOMOTIVES  AND  CARS.  165 

refrigerator  car,  loaded  and  iced,  carries  about 
one  hundred  thousand  pounds.  A  correspond- 
ing advance  has  been  made  in  passenger  equip- 
ment, track  and  bridges.  The  early  sleeping-car, 
weighing  sixty  thousand  pounds,  was,  in  the 
opinion  of  many  railway  men,  entirely  too  heavy. 
Day  coaches  weighing  eighty  thousand  pounds, 
and  sleepers  weighing  one  hundred  thousand 
pounds,  have  since  been  in  common  use.  The 
light  rail  has  been  succeeded  by  one  weighing 


Austrian  Car  for  Liquids. 

ninety,  and,  in  some  instances,  one  hundred 
pounds.  Engines  weighing  from  sixty  to  one 
hundred  tons  have  taken  the  place  of  the  forty- 
five  ton  engines. 

An  interesting  question,  and  one  continually 
recurring  in  railroad  practice,  is  whether  loco- 
motives are  made  to  earn  the  maximum  amount 
of  which  they  are  capable.  Experiments  with 
tonnage  rating  on  grades  show  a  general  increase 
in  the  average  number  of  cars  per  train.  From 
the  service  rendered  by  locomotives  the  carrier 


166  RAILWAY   EQUIPMENT. 

derives  his  revenue.  One  important  way,  there- 
fore, of  increasing  revenue,  is  to  compel  the 
locomotives  to  do  more  work.  This  is  all  the 
more  important  in  view  of  the  fact  that  re- 
duction of  rates  caused  by  sharp  competition 
has  decreased  the  earning  capacity  of  Ameri- 
can railroads  until  the  carrier  receives  less  for 
hauling  a  car  containing  eighty  thousand  pounds 
of  freight  than  was  formerly  obtained  from  a 
car  containing  twenty  thousand  pounds.  In  this 
connection  a  writer  estimates  that  "an  increase 
of  one  car  containing  twenty  tons  of  freight, 
in  each  train,  increases  the  earnings  of  a  loco- 
motive, in  one  year,  seven  thousand  two  hun- 
dred dollars,  and  the  only  additional  expense 
is  ninety  tons  of  coal.  Taking  the  average 
mileage  of  the  locomotive  at  three  thousand 
miles  per  month,  or  thirty-six  thousand  miles  per 
year,  we  have  the  revenue  of  twenty  tons  of 
freight  hauled  the  same  mileage  at  one  cent  per 
ton  per  mile,  or  twenty  cents  per  mile  per  car. 
There  will  have  been  no  increase  in  the  wages  of 
the  engineer,  fireman,  or  trainman,  or  for  repairs. 
The  only  extra  expense  has  been  five  pounds  of 
coal  per  car  mile." 

The  evolution  of  cars,  which  from  the  first  has 
been  constant,  has  not  been  uniform.  There 
have  at  times  been  what  we  may  call  epochs. 
Thus,  within  a  short  period,  the  railroads  of 
America  changed  their  light  freight  cars  for  those 
of  stronger  build,  rapidly  advancing  the  load 
from  ten  tons  to  forty  tons.     The  substitution 


LOCOMOTIVES  AND  CARS. 


167 


cj   *H    50    he 


168 


RAILWAY   EQUIPMENT. 


of  iron  and  steel  for  wood  in  many  directions 
also  represented  a  new  departure.  The  import- 
ance  of  these  changes  to  carriers  and  their  pat- 
rons cannot  be  portrayed  in  words. 

Of  the  many  experimental  efforts  made  during 
the  early  history  of  railroads,  none  perhaps  were 
more  ingenious  than  the  attempt  to  make  a  rail- 
way car  the  substitute  for  the  old  fashioned  ped- 
iar's  wagon.  Thus,  cars  were  converted  into 
stores  and  moved  from  town  to  town  according 
to  pre-arranged  programs  which  were  duly  ad- 
vertised in  advance.  The  experiment  did  not 
prove  successful,  however,  partly  owing  to  lack 
of  facilities  and  cost,  but  more  particularly  to 

the  opposition  of 
local  dealers  who 
were  regular  pat- 
rons of  the  rail- 
roads. 

The  various 
classes  of  traffic 
now  well  recog- 
nized on  our  rail- 
roads, it  is  inter- 
esting to  notice, 
were  not  in  every 
case  premeditated. 
Thus,  in  the  early 
history  of  railways 
in  Great  Britain, 
strenuous   efforts 

End  E'levation  of  American  Standard  t      i  „  •  i 

Box  Freight  Car.  we"*e  madc  by  rail- 


LOCOMOTIVES  AND  CARS. 


169 


way  owners  and  managers  to  discourage  what  is 
now  known  there  as  third-class  traffic.  They 
desired,  for  business  reasons,  to  confine  the  traffic 
to  first  and  second-class  travel.  In  order  the  more 
effectually  to  do  this,  no  effort  was  made  to  make 
the  low-classed  passenger  comfortable  or  expedite 
his  passage  over  the  road.  Cattle  trucks  and 
other  rude  conveyances  without  seats  were  used 
for  his  accommodation,  while  he  was  subjected 
to  long  delays  on  side  tracks  in  order  to  allow 
other  traffic  the  right  of  way.     No  indignity 

seemed  to  be  too 
great  to  put  upon 
him.  Nevertheless, 
his  desires  could 
not  be  crushed  out, 
but  continued  to 
grow,  the  com- 
panies meanwhile 
being  subjected  to 
the  most  biting 
comment  on  ac- 
count of  their 
policy.  In  the  end 
the  third-class  pas- 
senger prevailed. 

The  third-class 
fare  in  England  at 
the  time  of  which 
I  write  was  about 
six  cents  per  mile.  The  cars  were  conveyed  on 
the  same  train  with  horses,  cattle  and  empty 


Cross  Section  of  American  Standard 
Box  Freight  Car. 


170  RAILWAY  EQUIPMENT. 

freight  cars.  The  sides  of  the  vehicles  were  two 
feet  high,  without  roofs  or  windows.  The  fre- 
quency with  which  passengers  fell  from  the  cars 
while  trains  were  in  motion  led  finally  to  an 
increase  in  the  height  of  the  panels.  The  car- 
riage buffers  were  simply  solid  blocks  of  wood. 
There  were  no  springs  under  the  cars.  In  rare 
cases,  third-class  cars  had  seats.  The  speed  of 
trains  corresponded  with  the  meager  fare  paid. 
When  greater  speed  was  suggested,  carriers 
replied  that  passengers  in  third-class  cars  could 
not  endure  the  exposure  if  they  traveled  too 
rapidly.  On  some  lines  in  manufacturing  dis- 
tricts, third-class  passengers  were  ticketed  by  all 
trains.  It  is  reported  that  one  line  provided 
covered  cars  of  this  class.  It  became  very  popu- 
lar because  of  its  foresight.  Well-to-do  people 
sometimes  traveled  in  third-class  carriages,  to 
the  great  indignation  of  the  people,  especially 
the  railroad  people.  To  deter  them  from  doing 
this,  the  management  of  one  railway,  it  is  re- 
counted, adopted  the  soot-bag  expedient.  Thus, 
sweeps  were  hired  to  enter  the  third-class  cars, 
which  had  been  kept  especially  for  the  benefit  of 
well-to-do  persons  and  shake  out  the  contents  of 
their  bags.  A  very  offensive  makeshift.  The 
second-class  cars  were  little  better  than  the 
third-class.  Many  of  them  w^ere  not  closed  at 
the  sides,  and  those  who  patronized  them  were 
not  always  sure  of  being  in  good  company.  The 
first-class  English  cars  were  small  and  cramped. 
This,  after  larger  ones  had  been  built  in  other 


Standard  Amf.rioax  Box  Freight  Car  and  TRrcg. 


The  accompany iiig  illustration  particularize?;  every  part  of 
the  car.  The  index  thereto,  Avhich  accompanies  it,  gives  the 
technical  names  by  which  the  different  parts  are  known.  The 
illustration  with  the  index  is  at  once  a  chart  and  an  encyclo 
pedia.  Each  part  of  the  car,  it  will  be  noticed,  is  given  u 
number  by  Avhich  it  may  be  recognized  and  easily  referred  to. 
The  following  are  the  names  by  which  the  different  parts  of 
the  car  are  known: 

1  Master  car  builders'  Wajshburu  pattern  double  plate  wbceJ.  2  Wheel  flange. 
3  Wheel  tread.  4  Wheel  rim.  5  Wheel  bracket;^.  6  Wheel  hub.  7  Axle.  8  Axle 
wheel  seat.  9  Axle  dust  guard  seat.  10  Axle  journal.  11  Axle  collar.  l^iAxle 
journal  bearing.  13  Journal  bearing  key.  14  Truck  column.  1.5  Brake 
hanger  hook.  16  Truck  column  guide.  17  Brake  hanger  arm.  18  Brake 
hanger  pin.  19  Brake  head.  20  Brake  shoe  key.  21  Brake  shoe.  22  Brake 
lever  fulcrum.  23  Brake  lever  safety  loop.  24  Dead  brake  lever.  25  Live  brake 
lever.  26  Brake  lever  connecting  rod.  27  Dead  brake  lever  guide.  28  Dead 
62  brake  lever  guide  hook.  29  Brake  beam  truss  rod.  30  Brake  beam.  .31  Arch 
bar.  32  Inverted  arch  bar.  33  Tie  bar.  34  Column  bolt.  35  Journal  box. 
36  Journal  box  lid.  37  Journal  box  bolt.  38  Truck  bolster.  39  Truck  bolstel 
plate.  40  Truck  bolster  transom  bars.  41  Truck  bolster  strut.  42  Truck 
bolster  spring  plate.  43  Springs.  44  Spring  seat.  45  Truck  bolster  side 
bearing.  46  Truck  bolster  center  plate.  47  Journal  box  dust  guard.  48 
Sills,  center.  49  Sills,  inside  intermediate.  50  Sills,  outside  intermediate. 
51  Sills,  outside.  52  End  sill.  53  Draft  timber.  54  Draft  timber  filling 
block.  55  Door  post.  .56  Butting  timber.  57  Dead\vood.  58  Center  cross 
tie.  59  Cylinder  block.  60  Reservoir  block.  61  Post,  end.  62  Post,  corner. 
63  Post,  transom.  64  Post,  intermediate.  65  Post,  ladder.  66  Braces,  end. 
67  Braces,  transom  and  corner.  68  Braces,  transom  and  intermediate. 
69  Braces,  intermediate  and  door  post.  70  Side  girts.  71  End  girts.  72  Side 
plate.  73  End  plate.  74  Carliues.  75  Lower  ridge  pole.  76  Lower  inter- 
mediate purline.  77  Parting  strip.  78  Center  nailing  strip.  79  Inside  in- 
termediate nailing  strips.  80  Outside  nailing  strip.  81  Roof  covering.  82  Run- 
ning board.  S3  Running  board  saddle.  84  Side  fascia.  85  End  fascia.  86  Side 
door  furring.  87  End  door  hood.  88  Outside  sheathing.  89  Inside  lining. 
90  Flooring.  91  Side  door  braces.  92  Side  door  sheathing.  93  Side  door  stile. 
94  Side  door  top  rail.  95  Side  door  middle  rail.  96  Side  door  bottom  rail. 
97  Side  door  closed  stop.  98  End  door.  99  End  door  closed  stop.  100  Hand 
brake  platform.  101  Grain  door.  102  Grain  door  battens.  103  Grain  door  leaf. 
104  Grain  door  leaf  battens.  105  Beveled  grain  strips.  106  Turnbuckle  block. 
107  Pin  lifter  bracket,  end  sill.  108  Pin  lifter  bracket,  deadwood.  109  Draw 
bar  chafe  thimble.  110  King  post.  Ill  Queen  post.  112  Draft  timber  keys. 
113  Draw  bar  check  castings.  114  Draw  bar  spring  cage.  115  Body  center 
plate.  116  Body  side  bearing.  117  ]}ody  bolster  wedge  filling.  118  Body 
bolster  center  tilling.  119  Post  and  brace  pocket.  120  Hand  brake  wheel. 
121  Hand  brake  ratchet.  122  Hand  brake  pawl.  123  Hand  brake  holder. 
124  Hand  brake  rest.  125  Side  door  hanger.  126  Side  door  handle.  127  Side 
door  bracket.  128  Side  door  hasp.  189  Side  door  .seal  pin.  130  Side  door 
staple.  131  Side  door  open  clasp,  132  Side  door  closed  clasp.  133  Side  door 
wedge.  134  Side  door  open  stop.  135  Side  door  bracket  wedge.  136  End  door 
hangers.  1.37  End  door  bracket.  138  End  door  hasp.  139  End  door  seal  pin. 
140  End  door  staple.  141  End  door  bracket  wedge.  142  End  door  open 
clasp.  14^^  End  door  open  stop.  144  Grain  door  floor  block.  145  Grain  door 
guides.  146  Grain  door  guide  arm.  147  Grain  door  hold-up  hooks.  148  Grain 
door  leaf  hinges.  149  Longitudinal  truss  rod.  l5o  Turnbuckle.  151  Draw 
bar  loop,  152  Draw  bar  followers.  1.53  Draw  bar  springs.  1.54  Draw  bar 
carrier  and  brake  step.  155  Draw  bar.  156  Draw  bar  knuckle.  157  Draw 
bar  knuckle  pin.  158  Draw  bar  coupling  ynn.  1.59  Draw  bar  follower  straps. 
160  Deadwood  angle  iron.  161  Pin  lifter  rod.  162  Pin  lifter  chain.  163  Pin  lifter 
clevis.  164  Hand  brake  staff.  165  End  grab  iron.  166  Side  grab  iron.  167  Roof 
grab  iron.  168  Sill  corner  iron.  169  Girt  corner  iron.  170  Plate  corner  iron. 
171  Brake  platform  bracket.  172  End  door  chafing  strips.  173  Bodv  bolster  top 
plate.  174  Body  bolster  bottom  plate.  175  King  boll  176  Sill  step.  177  Side 
door  tract.  178  Side  door  chafing  strip.  179  Side  door  threshold  plate.  181/ 
End  door  threshold  plate.  181  Carliue  strap  bolt.  182  Counter  brace  rods. 
183  Corner  post  rods.  184  Intermediate  post  rods.  185  Door  post  rods.  186  Cor- 
rugated iron  roofing.  187  Brake  cylinder.  188  Auxiliary  reservoir.  189  Aux- 
iliary reservoir  release  valve.  190  Triple  valve.  191  Drain  cup.  192  Cut  out 
cock.  193  Train  pipe.  194  Release  valve  rod.  195  Pressure  retaining  valve. 
196  Pressure  retaining  valve  pipe.  197  Cylinder  lever.  198  Floating  lever.  199 
Floating  lever  fulcrum.  200  Cylinder  lever  and  floating  lever  coiniection.  2nl 
Cylinder  lever  and  live  truck  lever  connection.  202  Cylinder  lever  and 
hand  brake  connection.  203  Floating  lever  and  live  trucklever  connection. 
204  Hand  brake  chain.  205  Train  pipe  angle  cock.  20«)  Train  pipe  coupling. 
207  Train  pipe  coupling  hose.  208  Brake  lever  guide.  209  End  plate  tie  rod. 
210  Carliue  lie  rod. 


STANDAIU)  AMERICAN  BOX  FIIRTGHT  CAR  AND  TRUCK 


tniti.iTi  iiarticulftrizeK  every  part  ot 
uompanies  it,  gives  the 


STANDAKD   AMEKIrAS'    llOTt    PliEIri 

The  at!Compftnyiug  ii 
the  car.     The  index  tin 

technical  names  by  whuh  the  .lirtereut  parts  are  known.  T 
Illustration  with  the  iude-x  i.-  at  ,mce  a  chart  and  an  cneyclo 
pedia.  i.ach  part  of  the  car,  it  will  be  noticed,  is  given  ., 
number  by  ivhich  it  may  bo  recognized  and  easily  referred  to, 
r  he  following  are  the  names  by  which  the  ditfercut  parts  oi 


the  car  are  ku^wn:  ''   ""*^"  ""^  ^ia^civui.  i.»ii,h  u 

wheeUeat.  9  AxledustgiwidBcnt.  10  Axle  journal.  11  A  vie  collar  13  Ax  e 
K'er  hm°?"^is  T?  -T'™?'  ''="""K.  ""^y-  »  Track  colSmn  15  Bmi: 
hS  flr%SS  ianr.^rL^  ";''"',""„ S"'""-.  17  .Brake  hanger  arm,  18  Brake 
wiPrf,n|.r;,nl  ?■.!;  I  ?''  ~"  "'"^e  slioe  key.  81  Brake  shoe.  22  IJrake 
llZtl  .«  n™;.^  ^  "''''  'ever  siLtety  loop.  24  Dead  brake  lever,  2«  Live  brake 
brlke  l»t.?i^?Ml°h",™".!!,''^"",e  '2"  -'  """"l  •"»"«  'ever  guide.  28  Dead 
brake  lever  guide  hi.ok.  29  Brake  beam  truss  rod.  30  Brake  beam  .11  ^n-h 
Swm.S.i'h  "'?!!,  "";!;/""■•  ?1  Tie  bar.  34  Column  bolt.  35  Journal  box. 
■^..^..m  ,    ,i.  .lournal  box  bolt.    38  Truck  bolster.    39  Truck  bolstel 

■n.....i.  ,.,.,....  transom  barK    41  Truck  bolster  strut.     42  Truck 
Springs.     44  Spring  seat.     46  Truck  bolster  side 
er  center  plate.     47  Journal  box  dust  guaix).    4H 
.Ills,  inside  intermediate.     50  Sills,  outside  intermediate, 
62  fcnd  sill.     53  Draft  timber.     54  Draft  timber  mUng 


block.    55  Door  pl  . .. 

tie.    59  Cylinder  block.    60  Reservoir  block  _    _         _     „ 

68  Post,  transom.     114  Post,  intermediate.     65  Post^  ladder.    66  Braces,  end 


i.le  fn~c 


56  Butting  limber. 


68  Braces,  transom  and  intermediate! 
„i  .  -»■„.-.-."- VT-;-  -^-  •■•*'  70  Side  girls.  71  End  girts.  72  Side 
plate.  73  End  plate.  74  Canines.  75  Lower  ridge  pole.  70  Lower  Inter- 
mediate purllne.  77  Parting  strip.  78  Center  nafllng  strip.  79  Inside  in- 
termediate naUIng  strips.  80  cinlslde  nailing  strip.    81  Roof  covering.   S2Run- 

"if.iKcia.     86  Side 
"'.1  li.si.le  lining. 


iilng  board.  SSRuimliigboan 
door  furring.  87  Eud  doiir  1 
90  Flooring.  91  Side  door  bra 
94  .Side  door  lop  rail.  96  sii! 
97  Side  door  closed  stop. 


108  Pin  lifter  bi-i, 


113  Draw  bar  check  castings, 
plate.    116  Body  side  bei 
bolster  center  filling.     11 
121  Hand  brake  ratchet. 


step.      155  Draw  bar. 


itiliiig  hlrtp      17' 
181  Cariiue  sin 
184  Inleriiiediale  post  n. 

187  Brake lyliiidei'. 
e  valve,    190  Triple  v« 


rugated  Iron  roolin 

iliary  reservoir  release  valve, 

cock.    193  Train  pipe.    194  Rel       .       .   .     .  .,    „  

196  Pressure  retaining  valve  pipe.  197  Cvliiider  lever.  198  Floating  lever.  199 
Kloaling  lever  fulcrum.  200  Cylinder  lever  and  floating  lever  connection.  -Ml 
Cylinder  lever  and  live  truck  lever  (connection.  202  Cylinder  lever  and 
hand  brake  connection.  303  Floating  lever  and  live  truck  lever  connection. 
2W  Hand  brake  chain,  21K  Train  pipe  angle  cock.  206  Train  pipe  couplini 
207  Train  pipe  coupling  hose.  208  Brake  lever  guide.  209  End  plale  tie 
21(1  c'arline  lie  rod. 


LOCOMOTIVES  AND  CARS.  171 

countries.  The  Belgians  had  two  deck  cars,  in- 
convenient and  quaint  in  appearance.  What  was 
known  as  bogie  cars  were  in  use  in  Germany. 
The  long  open  car  was  adopted  in  America  almost 
from  the  ver}'  beginning. 

On  the  pioneer  railroad,  the  Liverpool  &  Man- 
chester, when  first  opened,  passengers  rode  in 
open,  unsheltered  cars,  or  in  covered  vehicles 
which  were  only  a  little  more  comfortable. 
Trains  were  few  and  far  between  and  started  at 
irregular  intervals.  It  was  some  time  before  a 
time  table  was  thought  of.  This  road  was 
expected  to  earn  fifty  thousand  dollars  from  pas- 
sengers the  first  year,  but  the  receipts  were  ten 
times  as  great. 

Trains  in  Great  Britain  were  protected  by  dis- 
tant signals  in  the  early  years  of  their  operation. 
It  was  suggested  at  one  time  that  there  should 
be  a  third  man  on  every  engine,  supplied  with  a 
small  telescope,  for  keeping  a  sharp  look-out 
ahead.  The  train  force  was  entirely  unprotected 
from  the  weather.  The  rear  brakeman  rode  on 
the  rear  car  facing  forward,  while  the  forward 
brakeman  rode  on  the  front  car  looking  back  to 
see  that  the  train  was  not  broken  in  two.  The 
baggage  was  placed  beside  the  brakemen,  and  for 
some  time  "strappers"  were  employed  whose  duty  • 
it  was  to  keep  the  straps  which  fastened  the  bag- 
gage to  the  car  properly  greased,  lest  they  should 
break  and  allow  the  baggage  to  fall  off  en  route. 

The  brakemen  carried  with  them  a  way-bill 
stating  the  number  of  passengers  of  each  class, 


172  RAILWAY  EQUIPMENT. 

their  point  of  departure  and  destination.  Smok- 
ing was  not  allowed  on  trains.  The  rules  were 
prolix  and  difficult  to  observe.  Luxuries  were 
highly  rated,  thus,  the  minimum  charge  for  a 
lap  dog  was  two  dollars  and  fifty  cents.  People 
were  strictly  forbidden  then,  as  now,  to  stand  on 
the  platform.  Each  passenger  had  a  fixed  place 
assigned  him  at  the  ticket-office — the  seats  being 
numbered.  The  ticket-office  was  usually  closed 
some  little  time  before  the  departure  of  a 
train.  In  'some  parts  of  German}^  a  ticket  could 
not  be  obtained  within  fifteen  minutes  before 
the  train  was  to  leave.  If  not  in  the  car  ten 
minutes  before  starting  time,  passengers  were 
locked  out. 

The  capacity  of  the  English  freight  car  varies 
from  four  to  eight  tons.  Only  a  small  percentage 
of  the  freight  equipment  of  English  railways  is 
made  up  of  box  cars.  In  many  cases  the  roofs  of 
the  box  cars  were  cut  away  opposite  the  doors 
and  the  open  space  covered  with  a  tarpaulin,  in 
order  to  facilitate  work  with  cranes.  Timber 
and  other  freight  covering  two  or  more  cars,  is 
transported  on  cars  having  a  false  bolster,  the 
latter  being  pivoted  in  the  center.  The  loads 
rest  on  the  bolsters  and  thus  permit  the  cars  to 
curve.  A  three-link  coupling  is  being  substituted 
more  or  less  generally  for  the  five-link  coupling 
formerly  in  use.  What  is  termed  a  "shunter's 
stick,"  is  used  for  coupling  and  uncoupling  the 
cars.  This  stick  is  about  five  feet  long  and  has  a 
hook  in  the  end  with  which  to  handle  the  chain. 


LOCOMOTIVES  AND  CARS.  173 

The  buffer  acts  as  a  fulcrum,  on  which  the 
switchman  rests  the  stick  when  raising  the  chain 
and  throwing  it  over  the  hook,  or  when  taking  it 
off  the  coupling  hook.  When  a  freight  train  is 
stretched,  there  is  a  space  of  from  seven  to 
tv/elve  inches  between  the  buffers. 

Delivery  of  freight  at  the  place  of  business  of 
the  consignee  is  quite  common  in  the  large  cities 
and  man}^  of  the  villages  of  Great  Britain.  Rail- 
way companies  also  haul  merchandise  from  the 
stores  to  the  stations.  When  the  consignee  un- 
loads freight  from  the  cars  a  demurrage  charge  is 
usually  made  after  a  limited  time.  Horses,  turn- 
tables and  capstans  are  still  used  for  switching 
purposes  to  some  extent,  although  new  yards  are 
arranged  for  the  use  of  locomotives. 

Foot  warmers  are  a  common  means  of  heat- 
ing passenger  cars  in  England.  They  are  usually 
made  of  heavy  tin  and  are  some  two  feet  long, 
twelve  inches  wide  and  four  inches  thick.  They 
are  charged  with  acetate  of  soda  and  put  into  a 
tank  of  boiling  water  before  being  placed  in  the 
car.  Within  each  can  is  a  cast-iron  ball.  When 
the  water  cools  and  the  soda  begins  to  form  into 
crystals,  the  heater  is  shaken  and  the  crystals 
broken  by  the  ball.  The  effect  is  to  produce 
more  heat,  and  the  warmer  is  thus  made  good 
foi:  some  two  hours  longer,  after  which  it  must 
be  re-heated  in  the  tank,  as  before.  Dining  and 
sleeping  cars  are  sometimes  heated  with  hot 
water.  In  some  cases,  sleeping  cars  are  heated 
with  oil  gas. 


174  RAILWAV   EQUIPMENT, 

The  passenger  cars  of  France  nave  a  seating 
capacity  for  four  persons  on  each  side  of  the  com- 
partment. Smoking  is  generally  allowed  in  every 
car,  although  the  law  requires  that  one  compart- 
ment on  each  train  shall  be  reserved  for  this 
practice. 

In  Spain  the  trains  travel  at  a  very  moderate 
rate  of  speed.  The  stations  are  usually  built 
of  stone — solid-looking,  but  heavy  in  appear- 
ance. The  railways  are  broken  up  into  many 
sections  so  that  passengers  must  change  cars  fre- 
quently, and  oftentimes  make  long  waits  for 
trains  at  junctions.  This  will  be  remedied  in 
time.  The  train  force  of  Spain  is  kind,  patient 
and  obliging  but  very  deliberate  in  its  move- 
ments. 

As  the  enclosed,  or  what  is  known  as  the  box 
freight  car,  is  the  principal  freight  vehicle  in 
America,  so  the  common  first-class  passenger 
coach  is  the  principal  vehicle  in  connection 
with  our  passenger  service.  It  carries  most  of 
such  traffic;  those  who  use  parlor  and  draw- 
ing-room cars  being  but  a  small  fraction  of  the 
whole.  These  latter,  however,  while  not  great  in 
number,  pay  very  much  more  than  the  others. 
The  accommodations  afforded  them  conform,  in 
a  general  way,  to  what  is  known  as  first-class 
travel  in  other  countries.  It  was  at  first  designed 
that  passenger  cars  should  be  arranged  with  en- 
trances and  exits  at  the  sides  so  as  to  be  quickly 
loaded  and  unloaded.  In  connection  with  local 
traffic,  and  more  particularly  suburban  business, 


LOCOMOTIVES  AND  CARS. 


nh 


k 

I 

i 


176 


RAILWAY  EQUIPMENT, 


where  maDy  passengers 
get* on  or  off  at  every 
station,  time  is  an  im- 
portant element,  and 
side  entrances  to  cars 
facilitate  movement. 
The  cars  need  not  nec- 
essarily be  compart- 
ment cars.  The  doors 
may  open  into  a  com- 
mon room  or  saloon. 
However,  in  practice,  it 
is  found  that  the  habit 
people  in  America  have 
of  leaving  their  seats 
to  stand  waiting  in  the  aisle  near  the  door,  ready 
to  rush  out  as  soon  as  the  train  stops,  overcomes, 
in  a  measure,  the  inconvenience  of  end  doors. 
In  Europe,  on  the  other  hand,  where  people  are 


Making  a  Coupling.  Coupled. 

Automatic  Coupler. 


9-^ 


:s  i^zm^^^ 


^^=^^^^ — s     ^ — -i:Z|j—  %^'— q-J^-^J 


— —  •5ec':cn  n^^  Drs^T.'r'6tr  re^ctv^ 


Continuous  Draft  Rigging. 


more  deliberate,  it  has  been  thought  the  delay  of 
loading  and  unloading  a  car  holding  sixty  pas- 
sengers from  doors  at  either  extremity  of  the 
vehicle  would  prove  a  serious  inconvenience  and 
greatly  delay  the  train. 


LOCOMOTIVES  AND  CARS. 


177 


The  compartment  car,  while  it  has  much  to 
recommend  it,  has  serious  objections;  so  serious, 
indeed,  that  where  used,  the  public  show  strong 
inclination  to  abandon  it  for  the  American  form, 
or  some  kind  of  vehicle  that  shall  be  more  pub- 
lic. The  seclusion  of  the  compartment  car  affords 
opportunity  for  the  perpetration  of  so  many 
crimes  and  impositions  that  travelers  have  grown 
distrustful  of  it.  Within  its  secluded  precinct 
the  blackmailer  finds  a  convenient  opportunity 


Side  elevation  and  section  at  center  bearings  of  Truck 
of  American  standard  freight  car. 

in  which  to  ply  his  or  her  nefarious  occupation, 
while  the  Dick  Turpin  of  other  days  long  ago 
transferred  his  field  of  operations  from  Hounslow 
Heath  to  the  more  secure  and  productive  pre- 
cinct of  this  car.  Such  has  been  the  experience 
of  England,  and  it  is  the  experience  of  every 
country  where  the  compartment  car  is  used. 

A  car  that  may  be  loaded  and  unloaded  at  the 
sides  from  platforms  level  with  the  car  floor,  is  a 
desirable  form,  and  especially  so,  for  suburban 
traffic.     It  need  not  necessarily  be  cut  up  into 

12     Vol.1 


178 


HAIL  ^yA  Y  EQ  UIPMEKT. 


compartments;  the  room  may  be  a  general  one,  so 
far  as  the  opportunity  for  passengers  to  observe 
what  is  going  on  is  concerned.  Thus  the  danger 
and  annoyance  of  the  isolated  compartment  may 
be  avoided. 

While  there  are  many  details  regarded  as  im- 
portant in  the  construction  and  maintenance  of 
a  passenger  car,  those  things  upon  which  the 
safety  of  passengers  rests,  outweigh,  of  course, 
all  others.    They  are  vital.    Among  these,  and 


End  Elevation  and  Section  Through  Journal  Box  of  Truck  of 
American  Standard  Freight  Car. 

first  to  be  considered,  are  the  wheels  of  the  car 
These,  it  is  apparent,  must  be  stable  and  not 
likely  to  prove  defective  with  wear  and  tear. 
A  broken  wheel  is,  of  all  calamities,  one  to  be 
especially  dreaded.  Next,  the  body  of  the  car 
must  be  looked  after,  and  here  it  is  apparent 
great  care  must  be  exercised,  first,  in  construct- 
ing and  afterward  in  maintaining.  Not  only 
must  a  car  be  strongly  built,  but  constant  care 
must    be    exercised   afterward  to   maintain   its 


LOCOMOTIVES  AND  CARS. 


179 


strength  by  needed  repairs  and  renewals.  For  it 
will  often  fall  out  that  the  lives  of  the  occupants 
of  a  car  or  train  wdll  depend  upon  the  parts  of 
the  car,  including  the  v/oodwork,  being  strong 
and  sound,  and  the  whole  carefully  cemented  and 
bound  together.  Only  vehicles  thus  constructed 
and  maintained  are  able  to  withstand  the  rough 
usage  to  which  they  are,  or  may  at  any  moment, 
be  subjected.  In  later  years  the  sills  of  the  cars 
making  up  a  train  have  been  made  to  coincide  with 


Section  Showing  Body  and  Truck  Bolsters  of  American  Standard 
Freight  Car  Truck. 

each  other,  thus  forming  practically  one  car  in 
the  resistance  offered  in  cases  of  collision.  The 
telescoping  of  cars  at  one  time  a  thing  of  fre- 
quent occurrence,  is  thus  happily  prevented  or 
minimized. 

While  every  part  of  a  car  is  important  and  the 
safety  of  the  train  dependent  upon  the  discovery 
and  correction,  in  time,  of  defects  in  vehicle  or 
fixtures,  the  things  that  go  to  make  up  the  dif- 
ference  between   efficiency   and  inefficiency  are 


180 


RA IL WA Y   EQUIPMEN T. 


relative  here  as  in  other  branches  of  the  service. 
When  the  safety  of  the  car  has  been  assured,  the 
builder,  according  to  his  tastes  and  the  price  he 
gets  for  his  work,  gives  his  attention  to  minor 
details,  among  others,  those  intended  simply  to 
add  to  the  comfort  of  passengers.    These  are 


Plan  of  Truck  of  American  Standard  Freight  Car. 

never  appreciated  by  travelers  at  their  true 
w^orth,  because  we  are,  as  a  rule,  totally  uncon- 
scious of  the  efforts  put  forth  in  our  behalf  in 
this  direction.  We  can  only  be  able  to  appre- 
ciate these  and  other  details  of  car  construction 
by  taking  up  the  parts  one  by  one,  and  by  inquiry 
and  surmise  estimate  the  thought,  direct  and 


LOCOMOTIVES  AND  CARS. 


181 


incidental,  that  they  have  received  both  from 
operators  and  builders  all  over  the  world,  every 
moment  of  the  day  since  railroads  were  first 
operated.  Every  detail  has  been  modified  or 
wholly  changed  many  times  to  reach  its  present 
degree  of  perfection. 

Among  the  things  those  who  operate  railroads 
regard  as  of  especial  consequence  in  a  passenger 
car  are,  cleanliness,  a  good  light,  proper  tempera- 
ture, adequate  ventilation,  comfortable  seats, 
careful  adjustment  or  balancing  of  the  vehicle, 
good  springs,  well  kept  toilet  rooms  and,  finally, 
an  abundant  supply  of  wholesome  drinking  water. 
This  last  is  not  thought  worthy  of  attention  in 
Europe,  where 
people  seldom 
drink  water. 
The  Americans 
are  the  water 
drinkers  of  the 
civilized  world, 
and  as  their 
drinking  water 
is  often  con- 
taminated, many  ills  grow  out  of  it,  such  as 
typhoid  fever,  which  their  brethren  in  other 
countries  do  not  experience.* 

The  higher  class  passenger  cars  in  America 
possess,  so  far  as  they  are  available  for  day  use, 
few  conveniences  which  are  not  to  be  found  in 


•  y5/0£  y/£yy.' 


^^oivr  y'lsn'-' 


Freight  Car  Door  Fastening.  Seal  is  passed 
through  opening  A.  To  open,  latch  B  is  raised 
and  thrown  in  dotted  position  C. 


*  On  some  English  railways,  drinking  water  for  passengers 
is  carried  in  bottles  in  the  lavatory. 


182 


RAILWAY   EQUIPMENT. 


the  common  coaches.  Their  fixtures  are  not 
better  than  those  of  the  common  car,  but  more 
ornate.  It  is  this  feature,  with  the  attendant 
service,  that  the  high-class  passenger  seeks  and 
pays  for.    The  palace  cars  are  also  quieter  than 

common  cars.  This 
is  an  attraction. 
However,  the  com- 
forts of  palace  cars 
are  variable,  as  is 
everything  else 
about  a  railroad. 
On  one  line  they 
will  be  ample,  on 
another,  ineffici- 
ciently  looked 
after.  Their  serv- 
ice is,  however,  in 
every  case  designed 
to  be  such  as  to  conduce  to  the  especial  comfort 
and  repose  of  mind  of  the  traveler.  In  furtlier- 
ance  of  this,  w^ell  trained  servants  attend  upon 
him,  while  the  furnishers  of  woods,  metals  and 
cloths  have  ransacked  the  storehouses  of  the 
world  in  their  effort  to  furnish  builders  material 
witn  wnich  lo  make  their  cars  attractive. 

Money  is  not  spared  in  preparing  cars  for  use 
where  traffic  is  likely  to  follow  therefrom.  It  is 
noticeable,  however,  that  what  constitutes  a 
high-priced  car  (a  luxury  in  little  demand),  at 
one  period,  becomes  a  thing  of  common  use  later 
on.     The  vestibule  train   and  buffet  smoker,  at 


Turkish  Box  Car.  Length,  21  ft.,  6  in.; 
height,  7  ft.,  4  in,;  weight,  8  tons;  load,  12^4 
tons. 


LOCOMOTIVES  AND  CARS. 


183 


one  period  associated  onh^  with  long  distances, 
limited  trains,  and  wealthy  passengers,  will 
sooner  or  later  become  common  to  all.  It  is  so 
in  everj^  walk  of  life,  the  luxuries  of  to-daj^  are 
the  necessities  of  to-morrow.  In  regard  to  mail 
and  baggage  cars,  sev- 
eral illustrations  of 
these  are  embraced 
herein  so  that  they 
may  be  viewed  in 
connection  with  oth- 
er vehicles  making 
up  a  passenger  train. 

The  b  a  2^  2^  a  £f  e  car  Victorian  Box  Car.  Length,  21  ft,  Wz  in. ; 
•i.  -11      1  i-        i'  load,  17,900  lbs. 

it    Will    be    noticed, 

still  maintains  its  primitive  simplicity,  while  the 
mail  car  has,  under  advanced  methods  of  hand- 
ling the  mail,  become  a  great  workhouse  fitted 
with  appliances  needed  to  conform  to  the  many 
wants  of  those  engaged  in  handling  this  line  of 
railway  traffic.  The  service  is  still  in  its  infancy, 
like  many  others. 

In  studying  car  construction  it  is  noticeable 
that  many  of  the  differences  existing  between 
the  cars  of  this  or  that  country  are  due  to  acci- 
dent, or  pre-existing  methods,  rather  than  design. 
Thus,  the  English  compartment  car  was  not  in- 
tended originally  to  cater  to  any  idea  of  exclu- 
siveness  peculiar  to  the  English  people,  because 
they  are  not  noticeably  exclusive  among  them- 
selves. It  was  due  rather  to  the  accident  of 
putting  a  number  of  old  fashioned  stage  coaches 


184 


RAILWAY  EQUIPMENT. 


on  a  platform  and  then  putting  the  platform  on 
wheels  and  the  whole  on  to  the  track  of  a  rail- 
road.   Forgetting  the  origin  of  their  car  and  its 


German  Box  Car.    Length,  22  ft.,  9  in.;  height  of  sides,  8  ft.,  1  in.;  weight, 

914  tons;   load,  12  tons. 

disadvantages,  the  English  people  have  been 
inclined  to  comment  unfavorably  on  the  com- 
mon coach  of  America  with  its  single  great 
saloon  in  which  all  the  passengers  sit.  These 
saloons,  however,  have  very  great  compensating 
advantages.     One  of  them  is  they  render  it  prac- 


Austrian  Goods  Car. 


ticable  to  have  toilet  rooms  easily  accessible  to 
passengers  at  all  times.  This  is  a  great  accom- 
modation.     The  traveler   in   Europe  who    sees 


LOCOMOTIVES  AND  CARS. 


185 


women  speeding  away  across  the  station  plat- 
forms pell-mell  to  remote  toilet  rooms,  beseech- 
ing conductors  and  guardmen  as  thej^  fly  not  to 
let  the  train  go  off  without  them,  has  a  lively 
sense  of  personal  sympathy  awakened  within 
him,  mixed  up  more^  or  less  with  indignation 
that  women  are  compelled  to  put  up  with  such 
treatment.  However,  when  a  people  are  accus- 
tomed to  a  thing  like  this  they  do  not  notice  it. 


Austrian  Box  Car  for  Transportation  of  Glass. 

The  inconvenience  grows  out  of  the  situation. 
It  is  not  practicable  to  have  toilet  rooms  in  con- 
nection with  each  compartment,  and  so,  while 
high-class  passengers  may  be  accorded  conven- 
iences of  this  nature,  abroad,  others  are  necessa- 
rily denied  it.  Hence  the  running  to  and  fro  of 
men  and  women  whenever  a  train  stops  at  a  sta- 
tion. It  has  always  been  so,  and  the  natives  do 
not  therefore  notice  it.  Habit  is  everything  in 
life.     Thus,  when  we  travel  in  remote  countries, 


186 


RAILWAY   EQUIPMENT. 


it  seems  at  first  glance  horrible  that  men  should 
buy  their  wives  as  they  do  horses,  but  where  such 
customs  prevail,  a  high-spirited  woman  would 
droAvn  or  hang  herself,  if  she  were  given  away  or 
did  not  bring  a  good  price;  and  so  it  is  possible 
that  men  and  Avomen  in  England  and  on  the 
continent  find  agreeable  and  healthful  exercise 
in  the  oft  repeated  excursions  they  are  com- 
pelled to  make  across  the  station  platforms  while 
the  train  waits. 

Among  other  interesting  things  connected  with 
the  passenger  service  of  railroads,  a  chapter  on 
the  evolution  of  the  car  seat  might  be  w^ritten. 
It  was  at  first  merely  a  plain  wooden  board,  rude 
in  design  and  hard  to  sit  on.  Following  its  use 
many  experiments  were  made  in  different  direc- 
tions. The  situation 
w^as  thought  to  be 
very  simple.  Oil 
cloth  and  leather 
were  among  the  first 
things  tried  as  a  cov- 
ering for  the  seat. 
They  were  found  to 
be  cleanly,  but  very 
cold  in  winter. 
Moreover,  passen- 
gers oftentimes 
experienced  great  difficulty  in  maintaining  an 
upright  posture  when  the  car  was  going  around 
curves  or  the  train  stopped  suddenly,  and  in  early 
days   it   used   always  to  sto^)   suddenly.     Cloth, 


Brazilian  Dynamite  Car. 
6  in. :  height  of  sides,  6  ft 
5  tons;  load,  6  tons. 


Length,  14  ft., 
3  in.;  weight, 


LOCOMOTIVES  AND  CARS. 


187 


carpet,  cane  and  perforated  wood  were  also  tried 
but  in  vain.  The  problem  as  successive  things 
were  tried  became  quite  exciting.  Seats  stuffed 
with  tow,  straw,  shavings  of  wood  and  excelsior 


German  Beer  Car. 

were  in  turn  experimented  with,  but  still  without 
success.  How  little  we  appreciate  this  struggle  to- 
day as  we  sit  securely  and  comfortably  back  in  a 
luxurious  seat  watching  the  flying  fences  and 
trees!  In  the  end 
a  satisfactory  solu- 
tion of  the  subject 
was  found.  In  this 
connection  it  is  to 
be  remarked  that 
Americans  dislike 
very  much  to  ride 
backward.  I  do  not 
know  why  unless 
it  has  the  appearance  of  waiving  for  the  moment 
that  feeling  we  have  that  we  are  the  equals  of 
the  best  and  the  superiors  of  all  others.  I  do 
not  believe  the  claim  so  often   put   forth   that 


C<*-kI^ 


Refrigerator  Car,  New  South  Wales.  Length 
of  body,  3i  ft. ;  height  of  sides,  6  ft.,  ^K  in.; 
weight,  35,840  lbs. 


188 


RAILWAY  EQUIPMENT. 


riding  backward  causes  sick  headache,  to  be  tena- 
ble. However,  the  weakness  of  the  American 
stomach  or  whatever  it  may  be,  made  a  reversi- 
ble seat  a  necessity.  Thus  every  one  might 
face  the  front.  This  was  not  difficult  of  at- 
tainment when  once  the  inventive  genius  of  the 
country  was  directed  to  the  subject.     Myriads  of 

devices  successively  saw 
the  light.  All  of  them 
were  more  or  less  satis- 
factory but  not  quite  up 
to  the  exacting  require- 
ments of  railroad  mana- 
gers; and  so  the  struggle 
still  goes  on,  and  will 
continue  to  go  on  till 
the  end. 

The  sleeping  car  is  one  of  the  most  conspicuous 
features  of  the  passenger  service.  It  is  an  Ameri- 
can conception.  Its  accommodations  were  at  first 
as  rude  and  cramped  as  those  of  a  sailing  vessel  of 
two  hundred  years  ago,  but,  through  the  energy 
and  tact  mainly  of 
one  man,  aided  in 
later  years  by 
others,  its  conven- 
iences have  been 
developed  until  to- 
day it  is  a  model 
of  elegance  and 

comfort.       It    seems  Perishable  Goods  car,  New  south  Wales. 

Length  of  body,  15  ft. ;  height  of  sides,  7  ft. ; 
now    to    be    periect,      weight,  14,570  Ibs. ;  load,  2-Z,400  lbs. 


Insulated  Car  for  Dairy  Prod- 
ucts, Victorian  Railways.  Length, 
21  ft.,  414  in.;  weight,' 17,100  lbs.; 
load,  10  tons. 


LOCOMOTIVES  AND  CARS. 


189 


but,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  is,  like  everything  else 
connected  with  raih'oads,  still  in  a  state  of  evolu- 
tion. From  a  simple  shelf  or  rude  couch  upon 
which  the  wayfarerrested,  amidst  noisome  smells 
and  the  dust  and  smoke  of  travel,  the  passenger 
now  enjoys  a  comfortable  bed  or,  if  he  desires, 
the  luxury  and  seclusion  of  a  private  compart- 
ment fitted  up  with  every  convenience,  save,  pos- 
sibly, a  bath,  that  the  best  hotel  affords.  The 
only  substantial  difference  between  them  is  that 
the  traveler's  quarters  are  cramped.      If  some- 


American  Poultry  Car. 

thing  still  more  exclusive  is  desired,  the  traveler 
may  hire  a  private  car  for  his  exclusive  use.  The 
price  charged  is  not  excessive  when  it  is  remem- 
bered that  this  is  one  of  the  greatest  luxuries 
wealth  or  position  can  command. 

The  immense  distances  traversed  in  America 
suggested  the  idea  of  the  sleeping  car.  It  is  said 
to  have  been  first  introduced  in  a  rude  way  on 
the  Cumberland  Valley  road  in  1836.  The  car 
was  divided  into  four  sections  by  transverse  par- 
titions.    Each  section   contained  three   narrow 


190 


RAILWAY  EQUIPMENT. 


Peloponnesus  Kailroad  (Greece) 
Car  for  Small  Cattle.  Length,  16 
ft.,  11  in.;  height  of  sides,  6  ft., 
5  in.;  weight,  4y%  tons:  load,  8 
tons. 


berths,  one  above  the 
other,  and  it  was  a  matter 
of  not  infrequent  occur- 
rence for  the  traveler  oc- 
cupying tiie  upper  berth 
to  be  hurled  out  of  his  bed 
as  the  train  passed  around 
some  u  n  u  s  u  a  1 1  y  sharp 
curve.  Afterward,  w4ien 
the  sleeping  car  had  been 

perfected,  the  upper  berth  continued  to  be  a 
source  of  anxiety,  as  it  sometimes  closed  up 
unexpectedly  on  the  traveler,  thus  smothering 
him  in  his  bed.  This  defect  has,  however,  now 
been  remedied. 

Some  of  the  experiments  with  the  sleeping  car 
took  the  direction  of  fitting  up  berths  similar  to 
those  on  steamboats,  but  as  no  bedding,  save  a 

coarse   mattress  and   pil- 
low, were  supplied,  it  did 
not    meet    with    success. 
In  1838,  rude  sleeping  cars 
were  put  on  the  line  be- 
tween   Philadelphia    and 
Baltimore.    They  are  thus 
referred  to  by  the  Balti- 
more Chronicle  in  its  issue 
of  October  31, 1838:  "Cars 
intended  for  night  travel- 
ing between  ,this  city  and  Philadelphia  will  be 
used   for  the  first  time  to-night.     They  are  of 
beautiful    construction.     Night    traveling  on   a 


Italian  Cattle  Car.  Length,  14 
ft.,  9  in.;  height  of  sides,  6  ft., 
Q\i  in.;  weight,  SYz  tons,  load, 
8  tons. 


LOCOMOTIVES  AND  CARS. 


191 


railroad   is,  by  the   introduction   of  these   cars, 

relieved  of  all  irk- 
someness.  A  ride  to 
Philadelphia  may 
now  be  made  with- 
out inconvenience, 
discomfort  or  suf- 
fering from  the 
weather.  You  can 
get  into  the  cars  at 
the  depot  and,  if  you 
travel  in  the  night,  you  go  to  rest  in  a  pleasant 
berth,  sleep  as  soundly  as  in  your  own  bed  at 
home  and,  on  awakening  the  next  morning,  find 
yourself  at  the  end  of  your  journey.     Nothing 


Cattle  Car,  Victorian  Railways.    Length, 
23  ft.,  4!^  in. ;  load,  22,400  lbs. 


Brazilian  Cattle  Car.  Liength,  31  ft..  6  in. :  height  of  sides.  6  ft.,  914  in.  No 
form  of  car  designed  for  the  transportation  of  cattle  equals  the  standard  in 
use  in  the  United  States,  which  is  at  once  roomy  and  w  ell  ventilated,  besides 
being  supplied  with  water  and  facilities  for  feeding. 


now  seems  to  be  wanting  to  make  railroad  travel 
complete,  except  the  introduction  of  dining  cars, 
and  these,  we  are  sure,  will  soon  be  introduced." 
The  advanced  methods  foreshadowed  by  the 
Chronicle  proved  delusive,  as  later  accounts- 
tell  us.     The  cars  were  not  successful.     Similar 


192 


RAIL  WA  Y   EQ  UIPMENT. 


attempts  were  made  about  this  period  b}"  other 
lines,  but  with  like  results. 

Reference  is  made  in  the  earlj^  chronicles  to 
sleeping  cars  with  seats  so  adjusted  as  to  form 
rude  beds,  the  space  between  the  seats  being 
fil-led  in  with  a  platform  of  boxes.  During  the 
day  these  were  carried  into  the  baggage  car  or 
were  stored  in  the  end  of  the  sleeper.  At  night 
the  back  of  every  alternate  seat  was  removed, 


American  Standard  Stock  Car.  Capacity,  60.000  lbs.;  weight,  30,000  lbs. 
This  car  is  used  very  largely  in  America  to  transport  cattle.  It  is  provided 
with  hay  bars  and  racks,  water  tionghs  and.  in  some  instances,  gates  on  the 
inside  to  prevent  cattle  f .-om  moving  about  the  car.  The  springs  for  the 
trucks  are  given  special  atteutioa  so  as  to  insure  ease  in  movement  of  the 
car  while  in  rapid  transit. 

the  boxes  were  brought  in  and  put  in  place,  a 
mattress  was  spread  over  the  whole  and  curtains 
hung  around  the  bunk  thus  made  up.  This  was 
one  of  the  most  primitive  forms. 

In  1859  the  needs  of  railway  travel  in  America 
had  advanced  to  a  point  that  warranted  invent- 
ors and  capitalists  turning  their  attention  to  the 
subject  of  providing  suitable  sleeping-car  accom- 
modations for  railroads.  What  was  wanted  was 
a  car  which  should  be  commodious  and  pleasant 


LOCOMOTIVES  AND  CARS. 


193 


during  the  day  and  easil}^  arranged  with  com- 
fortable beds  for  the  night.  It  was  at  this  period 
that  the  attention 
of  George  M.  Pull- 
m  a  n  was  first 
called  to  the  mat- 


Victorian  Sheep  Car.  Length  23  feet,  414  inches, 
weight  15,400  pounds,  load  8  tons. 


ter.  His  biogra- 
pher, referring  to 
the  matter,  saj^s: 
"It  is  his  special 
distinction  that  he 
conceived  the  cor- 
rect solution  of  one  of  the  most  momentous 
problems  in  the  history  of  modern  travel."  The 
circumstances  of  the  case  required  an  "  ideal  car 
for  long-distance  travel  which,  without  loss  of 
carrying  capacity,  could  be  quickly  and  readily 
transformed  from  a  night  into  a  day  coach.  The 
great  difficulty  in  accomplishing  this  result  was 
to  provide  a  place  for  the  beds  and  bedding  when 
not  in  use.  That  was  the  key  to  the  whole  situ- 
ation. Pullman's  principle  of  construction  pro- 
vided the  necessary  place  for  the  beds  and  section 
furniture,  when  not  in  use,  without  taking  up  an 
inch  of  space  necessary  for  day  travel,  or  in  any 
way  interfering  with  the  comfort  of  the  passen- 
gers." Mr.  Pullman's  first  venture  was  to  have  two 
old  day  coaches  remodeled  into  sleeping  cars, 
according  to  his  plan,  after  a  patent  which  he 
bought,  supplemented  by  improvements  of  his 
own.  These  were  merely  make-shifts,  however, 
and  accordingly  he  determined  to  construct  such 

13    Vol.  1 


194 


RA IL  WA  Y   EQ  UIPMENT. 


a  car  as  lie  believed  the  situation  required.  This 
vehicle  he  aptly  named  the  "Pioneer."  Here 
for  the  first  time  the  space  above  the  windows 
or  upper  berth  was  utilized,  through  his  device, 
for  the  storage  of  bedding  and  furniture.  This 
car,  when  completed,  in  1865,  cost  eighteen  thou- 
sand dollars.  The  figure,  while  seemingly  exor- 
bitant, was  greatly  exceeded  by  the  vehicles 
which  were  subsequently  constructed  by  him  at 
the  car  manufactories  which  he  established.  The 
"Pioneer"  was  a  foot  wider  and  two  and  a  half 
feet  higher  than  the  ordinary  day  car  then  in 

service.  It  was  the 
most  stately  and 
elegant  equipage 
of  its  day,  and  when 
President  Lincoln 
was  assassinated  it 
was  used  to  convey 
his  remains  from 
Chicago  to  Spring- 
field. In  order  to 
accommodate  the 
car,  however,  because  of  its  increased  width  and 
height,  it  was  found  necessary,  in  some  instances, 
to  reduce  the  width  of  station  platforms  and 
increase  the  width  and  height  of  bridges  along 
the  line  over  which  it  ran.  The  car  proved  to  be 
popular  with  the  traveling  public  and  became 
the  standard  for  all  passenger  vehicles  as  regards 
width  and  height. 
The  parlor  and  drawing-room  car  afterward 


Belgian  State  Railroad  Horse  Car.  Designed 
to  accommodate  three  animals.  Length  19 
feet,  1  Inch;  height  of  sides  6  feet,  8  inches. 


LOCOMOTIVES  AND  CARS. 


195 


introduced  for  high-class  passengers,  was  intended 
particularly  for 
day  travel.  It  af- 
forded comforts 
not  provided  for  by 
the  common  day 
coach.  Its  popu- 
larity in  America 
clearly  evinced  a 
desire  on  the  part 
of  the  traveling  public  for  a  high-grade  passenger 
service.  It  now  forms  an  essential  part  of  the 
equipment  of  every  great  railway  line.  Provision 
for  serving  meals  on  trains  next  attracted  atten- 


Victorian  Railway  Horse  Car.  Designed  to 
accommodate  twelve  animals.  Length  48  feet, 
214  inches. 


Austrian  Horse  Car.    For  fine  animals. 

tion,  but  not  until  forty  years  after  the  Baltimore 
"Chronicle "  called  attention  to  the  subject.  The 
outgrowth  of  this  desire  was  the  hotel  or  dining 
car.  The  meals  were  served  on  tables  placed 
between  two  seats  facing  each  other.     The  car 


196 


RAILWAY   EQUIPMENT. 


is  a  restaurant  in  itself  —  fitted  with  kitchen, 
closets,  and  ample  storage  accommodations. 
Thirty  people  can  be  served  simultaneously  in 
one  of  these  cars.  Where  traffic  does  not  warrant 
a  dining  car,  a  buffet  car  is  sometimes  used.  It 
has  only  a  limited  cuisine,  but  ample  to  meet 
restricted  needs.  Another  popular  car  in  Amer- 
ica is  the  buffet  smoker.  It  forms  a  part  of  the 
service  on  limited  or  very  high-grade  trains.  It 
accommodates  some  twenty-five  persons  comfort- 


American  Horse  Car. 


ably.  It  is  provided  with  luxurious  seats,  and 
an  attendant  who  looks  after  the  wants  of  pas- 
sengers and  supplies  them  with  tobacco,  cigars, 
liquor,  and  so  on,  upon  their  order. 

There  are  two  great  manufacturers  of  cars  in 
the  United  States  that  originated  with  the  palace 
car  companies.  The  Pullman  was  the  first  of 
these.  Many  years  afterward  the  Wagner  com- 
pany went  into  the  business.  These  companies 
do  not  confine  themselves  enclusivelj^  to  the 
construction  of  palace  and  sleeping  cars,  however, 


LOCOMOTIVES  AND  CARS. 


197 


but  build  other  cars  on  order.  It  is,  however, 
in  connection  with  the  passenger  car  that  their 
great  and  peculiar  service  to  railway  travel 
consists.  Their  business  as  carriers  has  from  the 
first  required  careful  attention  to  detail,  as  the 
traffic  they  cater  to  is  exacting  to  the  last  de- 
gree. Its  comfort  not  only  involves  superior 
conveniences,  but  embraces,  incidentally,  the  dec- 
oration of  the  vehicles  in  which  it  is  moved. 


Austrian  Car  for  creosoting  or  impregnating  wood. 

Every  part  of  the  car  has  thus  received  their 
constant  and  intelligent  thought.  The  cars  of 
the  palace  companies  are  not  only  more  strongly 
built  and  conveniently  arranged  than  others,  but 
more  carefully  and  elegantly  decorated.  "Inven- 
tion has  followed  invention,  improvement  after 
improvement  has  been  added,  uutil  the  'Pioneer' 
of  1865  has  expanded  into  the  traveling  hotel 
palaces  of  to-day."  The  vestibule  train,  continues 
the  authority  I  have  already  quoted,  is  intended 


198  RAILWAY   EQUIPMENT. 

to  perfect  this  purpose.  "In  its  latest  application 
the  vestibule  is  extended  to  the  locomotive  ten- 
der, thus  extending  its  protection  not  alone  to 
the  passengers,  but  to  the  employes  in  baggage 
and  postal  cars.  In  this  recent  application  of 
the  principle,  the  car  body  extends  over,  and 
completely  incloses  the  platforms;  this,  in  com- 
bination with  the  Pullman  vestibule  and  anti-tel- 
escoping  devices,  adds  great  strength  to  the  ends 
of  the  cars,  rendering  telescoping  impossible, 
besides  greatly  diminishing  the  atmospheric  re- 
sistance to  trains  in  motion.  The  vestibuled 
locomotive  tender  gives  the  trains  steadier  mo- 
tion and  increased  cushioned  resistance  to  shocks 
from  the  engine,  affording  greater  protection  to 
postal  and  baggage  cars,  and  minimizing  the 
dangers  to  engine  men  by  preventing  cars  from 
mounting  the  engine  in  case  of  collision."  '^ 

It  is  probably  not  overstating  the  case  to  sa^y 
that  many  of  the  most  valued  luxuries  and  con- 
veniences connected  with  the  passenger  service 
of  railroads  have  originated  with  the  Pullman 
Company.  They  have  grown  out  of  the  thought 
given  the  subject  and  the  exacting  needs  of  the 
service  it  caters  to.  The  world  owes  the  devel- 
opment of  the  sleeping  car  interests  of  rail- 
roads, particularly  and  especially  to  George  M. 

*  The  PuHman  Palace  Car  Company  was  organized  in  1867, 
■with  a  capital  of  one  million  dollars.  In  1897  it  had  a  capital  of 
thirty-six  millions  dollars.  The  number  of  its  sleeping,  parlor, 
and  dining  cars  operated  amount  to  two  thousand,  four  hundred 
and  eight,  of  which  nine  hundred  and  sixty-three  are  buffet  and 
dining  cars. 


LOCOMOTIVES  AND  CARS. 


199 


Pullman.  For  many  years  he  upheld  and  fostered 
the  evolution  of  this  great  feature  of  modern 
travel  alone.  Others  have  since  come  into  the 
field  and  have  become  with  him  great  and  per- 
manent factors;  but  primarily  the  development 
of  the  sleeping  and  palace  car  interest  owed  its 
growth  to  his  sagacity,  executive  talent  and 
genius  for  affairs. 


So-called  Caboose  Car,  with  observation  tower.  This  car  in  the  United 
States  is  generally  attached  to  every  freight  train.  It  contains  the  implements 
which  convenience  and  the  vicissitudes  of  operation  require,  besides  accom- 
modations for  the  conductor  and  his  crew.  It  is  sometimes  equipped  with 
several  sections,  simihir  10  those  in  sleeping  cars,  for  the  use  of  stockmen 
who  accompany  shipments. 

The  capacity  of  American  apartment  cars  are 
not  uniform.  Some  of  them  have  ten  state- 
rooms; others  less.  There  is  an  upper  and 
lower  berth  in  each  room.  Each  berth  is  capa- 
ble of  holding  two  persons,  making  forty  in  all. 
Every  room  is  fitted 
with  wash  stand  and 
closet  facilities. 
There  are  also  toil- 
ets at  each  end  of  the 
car.  A  door  in  the 
bulkhead  allows  two 

or    more     apartments  Frame-Work  of  steam  Shovel  car. 


198  RAILWAY   EQUIPMENT. 

to  perfect  this  purpose.  "In  its  latest  application 
the  vestibule  is  extended  to  the  locomotive  ten- 
der, thus  extending  its  protection  not  alone  to 
the  passengers,  but  to  the  emploj^es  in  baggage 
and  postal  cars.  In  this  recent  application  of 
the  principle,  the  car  body  extends  over,  and 
completely  incloses  the  platforms;  this,  in  com- 
bination with  the  Pullman  vestibule  and  anti-tel- 
escoping  devices,  adds  great  strength  to  the  ends 
of  the  cars,  rendering  telescoping  impossible, 
besides  greatly  diminishing  the  atmospheric  re- 
sistance to  trains  in  motion.  The  vestibuled 
locomotive  tender  gives  the  trains  steadier  mo- 
tion and  increased  cushioned  resistance  to  shocks 
from  the  engine,  affording  greater  protection  to 
postal  and  baggage  cars,  and  minimizing  the 
dangers  to  engine  men  by  preventing  cars  from 
mounting  the  engine  in  case  of  collision."  * 

It  is  probably  not  overstating  the  case  to  say 
that  many  of  the  most  valued  luxuries  and  con- 
veniences connected  with  the  passenger  service 
of  railroads  have  originated  with  the  Pullman 
Company.  They  have  grown  out  of  the  thought 
given  the  subject  and  the  exacting  needs  of  the 
service  it  caters  to.  The  world  owes  the  devel- 
opment of  the  sleeping  car  interests  of  rail- 
roads, particularly  and  especially  to  George  M. 

*  The  Pullman  Palace  Car  Company  was  organized  in  1867, 
with  a  capital  of  one  million  dollars.  In  1897  it  had  a  capital  of 
thirty-six  millions  dollars.  The  niimber  of  its  sleeping,  parlor, 
and  dining  cars  operated  amount  to  two  thousand,  four  hundred 
and  eight,  of  which  nine  hundred  and  sixty-three  are  buffet  and 
dining  cars. 


LOCOMOTIVES  AND  CARS. 


199 


Pullman.  For  many  years  he  upheld  and  fostered 
the  evolution  of  this  great  feature  of  modern 
travel  alone.  Others  have  since  come  into  the 
field  and  have  become  with  him  great  and  per- 
manent factors;  but  primarily  the  development 
of  the  sleeping  and  palace  car  interest  owed  its 
growth  to  his  sagacity,  executive  talent  and 
genius  for  affairs. 


So-called  Caboose  Car,  with  observation  tower.  This  car  in  the  United 
States  is  generally  attached  to  every  freight  train.  It  contains  the  implements 
which  convenience  and  the  vicissitudes  of  operation  require,  besides  accom- 
modations for  the  conductor  and  his  crew.  It  is  soraetimes  equipped  with 
several  sections,  similar  lo  those  in  sleeping  cars,  for  the  use  of  stockmen 
who  accompany  shipments. 

The  capacity  of  American  apartment  cars  are 
not  uniform.  Some  of  them  have  ten  state- 
rooms; others  less.  There  is  an  upper  and 
lower  berth  in  each  room.  Each  berth  is  capa- 
ble of  holding  two  persons,  making  forty  in  all. 
Every  room  is  fitted 
with  washstand  and 

closet    facilities.       //       V  \  T 

There   are  also   toil-    .(^^ii^^^^fe^ss*.-__    I 
ets  at  each  end  of  the 
car.     A  door   in    the- 
bulkhead  allows  two 

or    more     apartments  Frame-Work  of  steam  Shovel  car. 


202  RAILWAY  EQUIPMENT. 

It  is,  however,  undoubtedly  true  that  in  Europe 
and  the  far  East,  and  in  Mexico  as  well,  man}^ 
seek  cheap  rates  and  plain  accommodations 
which  Americans  of  corresponding  social  position 
would  not  put  up  with.  There  is  a  rivalry  more 
or  less  ugly  in  the  latter  country  that  leads  every 
man  to  desire  to  travel,  irrespective  of  his  means, 
on  a  par  with  every  other  man.  How  could  he 
be  equal  with  the  best  if  he  did  not?  Because  of 
this  and  for  other  reasons  there  is  little  demand 
for  anything  in  America  but  first-class  transpor- 
tation. The  emigrant,  newly  arrived,  is  content  to 
travel  as  cheaply  as  possible,  following  the  cus- 
tom of  his  own  country,  but  when  he  has  become 
Americanized,  nothing  short  of  a  first-class  car- 
riage, in  many  instances,  is  acceptable  to  him. 

The  tendency  in  Europe  is,  however,  steadily 
toward  higher  classes  of  travel;  toward  greater 
conveniences  and  added  luxuries:  What  Avas  at 
first  esteemed  impracticable  is  now,  in  many 
instances,  deemed  a  necessity.  Upon  many 
lines  there  are  four  classes  of  travel.  The  first 
conforms  in  a  general  way  to  our  high  grade 
palace  car  travel,  though  perhaps  not  as  lux- 
urious. There  are  instances  where  it  equals 
the  Pullman  and  Wagner  service,  but  as  a  rule 
it  does  not.  The  second-class  coach  in  Europe 
is  quite  as  comfortable  as  the  common  day  car 
in  America.  In  the  third  class,  the  seats  are 
uncushioned  and  comforts  in  other  directions 
are  restricted.  In  the  fourth  class,  the  accommo- 
dation is  yet  more  meager.     Trains  are  made  up 


LOCOMOTIVES  AND  CARS.  203 

of  the  locomotive,  baggage  car,  mail  car,  and 
respectively,  of  fourth,  third,  second  and  first- 
class  cars.  In  the  majority  of  instances  there 
are  only  three  classes  of  travel.  Sometimes  all 
the  various  classes  are  carried  in  one  car.  Thus, 
if  traffic  is  small  and  divided,  a  car  may  be  appor- 
tioned to  accommodate  first,  second,  third  and 
even  fourth  class,  a  compartment  being  set  apart 
for  baggage.  The  apportionment  of  cars  to  the 
different  classes  of  travel  is  made  to  conform  to 
actual  needs.  If  there  is  demand  for  a  first-class 
car,  it  is  allotted;  if  only  a  portion  of  a  car  is 
needed,  then  only  a  portion  is  set  aside  for  this 
purpose.  Thus  the  cars  conform  to  requirements. 
In  the  higher  grade  of  compartment  cars  of 
recent  construction,  lavatories  are  provided,  but 
these  luxuries  are  not  general  in  compartment 
cars  of  the  lower  grades.  The  passenger  coaches 
used  in  Europe  and,  indeed,  throughout  the 
world,  are  in  the  main  of  the  compartment  form. 
American  manufacturers  have  not  constructed 
any  cars  of  this 
pattern  either  for 
use  at  home  or 
abroad.  In  Ger- 
many and  Austria, 
the  American  form 
of  coach,  with  an 
entrance  at  either 
end,  is  taking  the      ^   .    .   ^^,     .    m    ,  . 

"  Device  for  Changing  Trucks  from  Narrow 

place    of    tlie    com-  CaugetoWide  Gauge,  and  vice-versa. 

partment  car.     The   higher  grade  of  trains   in 


204  RAILWAY  EQUIPMENT. 

these  countries  are  vestibuled,  as  in  America. 
What  we  call  the  vestibule  car,  they  desig- 
nate, because  of  its  form,  the  Harmonica  or  Ac- 
cordion. The  air-brake  is  very  generally  used 
by  the  railways  in  Europe.  It  is  destined  to 
become  universal  in  its  application  because  of  its 
convenience  and  value  as  a  safety  appliance.  In 
many  instances,  especially  in  central  and  eastern 
Europe,  steam  from  the  locomotive  is  utilized 
for  heating  purposes.  Oftentimes,  however,  the 
old-fashioned  warming  pan  and  hot  water  bottle 
are  made  to  do  service.  The  method  of  coupling 
cars  by  chains,  so  generally  practiced  abroad,  is 
much  inferior  to  the  automatic  coupler  generally 
in  use  throughout  America.  In  some  cases, 
Pintsch  lights  and  electricity  are  used  in  other 
countries,  as  they  are  in  America,  but  in  many 
instances  a  candle  or  oil  lamp  serves,  as  in  primi- 
tive days  of  railroading,  to  light  the  coaches. 


The  first  freight  car  consisted  simply  of  a  bed 
or  platform  on  which  the  goods  were  piled.  They 
were  covered,  and  protected  in  a  measure,  by  a 
tarpaulin.  In  the  United  States,  however,  where 
cars  are  moved  immense  distances,  and  goods  re- 
main therein  for  days,  and  oftentimes,  weeks,  it 
was  found  necessary  not  only  to  securely  protect 
the  load  from  the  weather,  but  also  from  thieves. 
The  open  car  with  its  tarpaulin  cover  was  found 
to  answer  very  well  in  Great  Britain  where  the 
distances  are  not  great  and  the  freight  is  moved 


LOCOMOTIVES  AND  CARS.  205 

with  much  greater  celerity  than  in  the  United 
States. 

For  sixty  years  after  railroads  were  opened  in 
America  stringent  regulations  designed  to  pre- 
vent overloading  cars  were  enforced.  The  maxi- 
mum load  was  ten  tons,  and  this  long  after  the 
roadbed  had  been  strengthened  and  the  weight 
of  the  rails  had  been  increased  to  the  heaviest 
pattern  known.  This  persistence  illustrates  the 
force  of  habit.  Because  ten  tons  was  a  reasona- 
ble load  for  the  light  rail,  and  unstable  bridges 
and  track,  of  the  earlier  roads,  it  did  not  occur  to 


standard  Americau  Postal  Car.    Length,  60  ft.,  9  iu.;    width,  9  ft.,  10  in.; 
height  from  rail,  13  ft.,  11  in.;  weight,  62,000  lbs. 

any  one  to  change  or  increase  it  for  fully  sixty 
years.  Then  it  suggested  itself  to  the  managers 
of  American  roads  that  thirty  or  even  forty  tons 
might  be  hauled  in  a  car  more  advantageously 
than  ten.  Accordingly  all  new  cars  were  built 
to  conform  thereto.  The  change  will  be  highly 
beneficial,  as  it  will  effect  great  saving  in  the 
number  of  cars  and  the  relative  cost  of  hauling 
and  handling.  The  new  car,  it  is  to  be  remarked, 
is  little,  if  any,  larger  than  the  old  one,  but  it 
is  stronger  and  its  body  is  supported  by  a  sub- 
stantial truss  on  either  side,  as  shown  in  the 
illustration. 


20G 


RA  TL  WA  Y   EQ  UIPMKKT. 


The  freight  car  load  in  England  and  on  the 
continent  is  very  light  compared  with  ours.  The 
cars  used  are  much  shorter  than  the  American 
pattern  and  correspondingly  weaker.  Our  cars 
have  uniformly  eight  wheels;  theirs,  as  a  rule, 
only  four.  Moreover,  the  practice  so  general  in 
America  (and  in  a  measure  the  secret  of  our  suc- 
cessful operation)  of  requiring  a  relatively  full 
load  for  each  car  in  a  train,  is  not  so  rigidly  ob- 


Interior  of  American  Postal  Car. 


served  abroad,  but  more  particularly  in  Great 
Britain,  where  single  light  shipments,  in  many 
cases,  constitute  a  load,  just  as  one  or  two  pas- 
sengers may,  by  judicious  tips,  occupy  a  compart- 
ment in  a  car  to  the  exclusion  of  every  one  else. 
The  great  loads  hauled  by  engines  in  America  at 
a  low  rate  of  speed  is  an  economic  feature  that 
may  well  be  studied  by  railroad  managers  every- 
where. 


LOCOMOTIVES  AND  CARS. 


207 


The  box  car  in  America  and  the  flat  ear  in 
Great  Britain  easily  lead  all  others  in  number 
and  importance.  The}"  form  the  key  to  the  sit- 
uation. The  box  car  is  the  only  car  in  use  in 
America  for  carrying  general  merchandise.  Soon 
after  railroads  were  opened  here  half  box  cars 
were  constructed  to  carry  coal  and  similar 
freight.  For  a  long  time  only  three  kinds  of 
freight  cars  were  in  use,  namely,  the  flat,  box, 
and  coal  or  gondola  car.  In  recent  years  many 
new  forms  for  special  purposes  have  been  added, 


Austrian  Postal  Car. 


but  as  the  illustrations  accompanying  this  por- 
tray them  in  every  substantial  respect  I  will  not 
tire  the  reader  by  attempting  their  description. 
Writers  and  observers,  especially  Englishmen, 
in  speculating  on  the  causes  which  enable  Amer- 
ican railroads  to  carry  freight  at  so  low  a  rate 
per  ton  per  mile,  concur  in  ascribing  them  to  the 
great  carrying  capacity  of  our  standard  freight 
car  and  the  fact  that,  as  a  rule,  it  is  loaded  to  its 
full  limit.  For  this  reason  T  have  felt  it  desirable 
to  illustrate  this  car  somewhat  at  length,  so  that 


20(J 


RA  TL  WA  Y   EQ  UIPMENT. 


The  freight  car  load  in  England  and  on  the 
continent  is  veiT  light  compared  with  ours.  The 
cars  used  are  much  shorter  than  the  American 
pattern  and  correspondingly  weaker.  Our  cars 
have  uniformly  eight  wheels;  theirs,  as  a  rule, 
only  four.  Moreover,  the  practice  so  general  in 
America  (and  in  a  measure  the  secret  of  our  suc- 
cessful operation)  of  requiring  a  relatively  full 
load  for  each  car  in  a  train,  is  not  so  rigidly  ob- 


.^ 


Interior  of  American  Postal  Car. 


served  abroad,  but  more  particularly  in  Great 
Britain,  where  single  light  shipments,  in  many 
cases,  constitute  a  load,  just  as  one  or  two  pas- 
sengers may,  by  judicious  tips,  occupy  a  compart- 
ment in  a  car  to  the  exclusion  of  every  one  else. 
The  great  loads  hauled  by  engines  in  America  at 
a  low  rate  of  speed  is  an  economic  feature  that 
may  well  be  studied  by  railroad  managers  every- 
where. 


LOrOMOTIVES  AND  CARS. 


20' 


The  box  car  in  America  and  the  flat  ear  in 
Great  Britain  easily  lead  all  others  in  number 
and  importance.  They  form  the  key  to  the  sit- 
uation. The  box  car  is  the  only  car  in  use  in 
America  for  carrying  general  merchandise.  Soon 
after  railroads  were  opened  here  half  box  cars 
were  constructed  to  carry  coal  and  similar 
freight.  For  a  long  time  only  three  kinds  of 
freight  cars  were  in  use,  namely,  the  flat,  box, 
and  coal  or  gondola  car.  In  recent  years  many 
new  forms  for  special  purposes  have  been  added, 


Austrian  Postal  Car. 


but  as  the  illustr?ttions  accompanying  this  por- 
tray them  in  every  substantial  respect  I  will  not 
tire  the  reader  by  attempting  their  description. 
Writers  and  observers,  especially  Englishmen, 
in  speculating  on  the  causes  which  enable  Amer- 
ican railroads  to  carry  freight  at  so  low  a  rate 
per  ton  per  mile,  concur  in  ascribing  them  to  the 
great  carrying  capacity  of  our  standard  freight 
car  and  the  fact  that,  as  a  rule,  it  is  loaded  to  its 
full  limit.  For  tliis  reason  T  have  felt  it  desirable 
to  illustrate  this  car  somewhat  at  length,  so  that 


210 


RAIL  WA  Y  KQ ITTPMENT. 


The  body  bolsters  of  the  car  are  open  hearth 
steel;  top  bar,  10  x|  inches;  bottom  bar,  10  x| 
inches;  filled  in  with  malleable  iron  flanged  cast- 
ings, securely  riveted  together.  The  truss  rods 
are  six  in  number,  of  l|-inch  round  iron,  with  If- 
inch  ends  and  open  turnbuckles  in  the  center. 
The  draft  rigging  is  a  double,  or  tandem,  spring 
device  with  malleable  iron  cheek  castings  on 
either  side,  thoroughly  secured  by  locking  into 
the  draft  timbers  \l  inches  and  each  bolted  with 
eight  |-incli  bolts.  By  the  use  of  a  malleable  iron 
cage,  encircling  the  rear  spring,  and  a  malleable 
iron  plunger  which  gets  its  bearing  on  the  front 
follower,  this  spring  takes  the  blow  in  buffing 
and,  simultaneously,  the  front  spring,  bearing  od 
the  front  follower  and  front  end  of  the  cage, 
which  gets  a  bearing  on  the  back  follower,  causes 
the  front  spring  also  to  take  the  blow.    And  by 

the  use  of  the 
draw  bar  pocket, 
w  h  i  c  h  bears  on 
the  rear  follower, 
and  the  rear  fol- 
lower on  the  rear 
spring,  communi- 
cates, through  the 
plunger,  a  bearing 
on  the  front  fol- 
low^er.  And  the  rear  follower,  bearing  on  the 
cage  communicates  to  the  front  spring  and  front 
follower.  Thus,  the  strength  of  both  springs  is 
brought  into  service  in  draught  as  in  buffing.     In 


Victorian  Baggage  and  Compartment  Pas- 
senger Car.  Length,  43  ft.,  S^^  in.;  weight, 
40,000  lbs;  accommodation  for  twelve  pas- 
sengers. 


LOCOMOTIVES  AND  CARS. 


211 


buflBng,  the  sprino^s  are  protected  by  the  front 
follower  having  l|-inch  travel  and  then  coming 
to  a  stop  on  the  cheek  castings,  as  also  on  the 
deadwood  angles.    In  draught,  the  rear  follower 


Baggage  Car  and  Electric  Lighting  Plant,  Austrian  Imperial  Train. 

has  l|-inch  travel  and  then  comes  to  a  stop  on 
the  cheek  castings.  Each  spring  is  manufactured 
with  2J-inches  motion.  There  is,  therefore,  -l-inch 
motion  left  in  each  spring  when  the  stops  are 
reached  in  buffing,  or  in  draught,  and  by  this 
means  the  breakage  of  springs  is  practically 
eliminated.     The  roof  is  made  of  sheets  of  cor- 


Standard  American  Baggage  and  Buffet  Smoking  and  Library  Car.  Fre- 
quently fitted  with  barber  shop  and  bath  room.  Length,  72  ft.;  width,  9  ft., 
8  in.;  height  above  the  rail,  14 feet;  passenger  room  seating  capacity,  23  per- 
sons. An  attendant  is  usually  found  with  these  cars,  who  looks  after  the  com- 
fort of  the  passengers.  He  has  for  their  use,  generally,  cigars,  tobacco- 
mineral  waters,  and  kindred  articles,  which  he  sells  at  a  small  profit.  One 
end  of  the  car  is  used  for  baggage  and  in  some  cases  for  mails. 


212 


RAIL  VTA  Y  EQUIPMENT. 


rugated  galvanized  iron,  No.  26  gauge,  the  edges 
of  which  are  turned  up  underneath  |  inch  into 
parting  strips,  as  shown  in  the  illustration. 
These  parting  strips  come  directly  over  the  car- 
lines  and  are  secured  thereto,  without  injury  to 
the  galvanized  iron  sheets.  Underneath,  the 
sheets  rest  on  the  side  plates,  ridge  purlin  and 


Interior  of  American  Buffet  Smoking  Car. 

two  intermediate  purlins.  On  the  top  of  parting 
strips,  as  shown  in  the  illustration,  there  is  a 
center  purlin,  an  outside  purlin  and  two  inter- 
mediates, on  which  a  covering  of  tongued, 
grooved  and  guttered  roofing  is  thoroughly 
secured.  This  construction  makes  a  thoroughly 
water-tight  roof,  even  though  the  upper  roof 
boards  should  leak.     Each  carline  is  secured  to 


LOCOMOTIVES  AND  CARS, 


233 


the  side  plate  at  ends  with  a  1|  x  f -inch  strap 
bolt  with  a  stem  of  f-inch  round  iron.  The  axles 
are  the  master  car  builders'  standard  for  a  car  of 
60,000  lbs.  capacit}^  as  follows:  Extreme  length, 
7  feet,  J  inch;  diameter  of  center,  4f  inches; 
wheel  seat,  finished,  5f  inches;  journals,  finished, 
4^x8  inches;  collar,  f  inch.  The  wheels  are  the 
master  car  builders'  standard,  double  plate,  33 
inches  in  diameter,  weight,  600  lbs.     The  brasses, 


A  Smoking  Compartment  in  an  American  Car. 

wedges,  oil  boxes  and  oil  box  covers  (the  last  made 
of  malleable  iron),  are  all  the  master  car  builders' 
standard.  The  cross  transoms  and  spring  bear- 
ings are  channel  irons,  13  inches  wide,  \  inch 
web,  4-inch  flanges.  The  truck  bolsters  are  of 
open  hearth  steel.  The  top  bars  are  11  x  J-inch, 
the  lower  bars,  llx|-inch.  The  bridging  from 
end  to  end  of  same  is  of  flanged  malleable  iron 
castings,  the   bars   and   castings  being  securely 


214 


RAIL WA  Y   EQUIPMENT, 


riveted  together.  The  center  plates,  side  bear- 
ings and  columns  are  of  malleable  iron.     The 

compression  mem- 
bers of  the  brake 
beam  are  of  2  x  1- 
inch  iron.  The 
tension  rod  of  1- 
inch  round  iron. 
The    brake    heads 

Bosnian  RaUway  Compartment  Car.  are      of       malleable 

iron  made  to  take 
the  master  car  builders^  standard  Christie  brake 
head.  The  brakes  are  hung  from  malleable  iron 
arms,  which  are  secured  to  the  truck  frame  by  the 
column  bolts,  thus  retaining  the  brakes  in  the  same 
position  always.  The  brake  levers  and  connec- 
tions are  master 
car  builders'  stan- 
dard. Finally,  it 
may  be  said  the 
end  and  side  doors 
of  the  car  are 
locked  and  sealed 
when    the   car    is 

loaded.  The  roof  and  sides  of  the  car  are  water 
tight.  Altogether,  the  vehicle  is  as  secure  as 
good  construction  and  locks  can  make  it. 

While  the  fact  is  not  generally  known  nor 
commented  upon  it  is  nevertheless  true  that 
there  are  specialists  among  car  manufactories 
as  there  are  in  every  business  and  profession  in 
the  world.  Thus  there  are  manufactories  devoted 


German  First-Class  Passenger  Car. 


LOCOMOTIVES  AND  CARS. 


215 


wholly  to  the  production,  in  a  complete  form,  of 
cheap,  light,  portable  railroads  and  the  equipment 
connected  therewith.  I  have,  by  way  of  illustra- 
tion, gone  to  some  trouble  to  familiarize  myself 
with  the  details  of  one  of  these  companies — 
the  Decauville,  at  Petit-Bourg,  France.*  It  is 
quite  interesting  and  instructive.  The  pro- 
prietor of  these  works  (M.  Paul  Decauville),  it 
appears,  started  in  life  as  a  farmer,  albeit,  a 
highly  educated  one,  as  many  of  the  farmers  of 


American  Standard  Railway  Passenger  Car.  In  some  cases  these  cars  are 
provided  with  safety  gates,  so  that  passengers  cannot  get  on  or  off  except  at 
the  instance  of  the  brakemen  or  on  the  proper  side.  Its  length  is  52  ft.; 
height,  14  ft.  above  the  rail;  weight,  58,200  lbs. 

Europe,  and  more  particularly  of  France,  are.  It  is 
said  that  he  first  introduced  into  France  the  idea 
of  plowing  by  steam.  He  made  it  highly  success- 
ful on  his  estate.  There  being  occasion  for  the 
transportation  of  stone  from  a  quarry  located  on 
his  farm,  to  the  river  Seine,  it  occurred  to  him 
that  a  narrow  gauge,  portable  railroad  would  be 
desirable  for  handling  it;   but  upon  inquiry  he 

*  111  1897  this  concern  was  carried  on  by  a  company  with  a 
capital  of  seven  million  francs,  under  the  style  of  Societe  nou- 
velle  des  Etablissements,  Decauville,  aine. 


216 


RAIL WA Y   EQUIPMENT. 


found  the  cost  so  excessive  as  to  preclude  the 
idea.  Upon  examination  he  discovered  the  cause 
of  this  excess  to  be  due  to  the  fact  that  such 
roads  were  constructed  the  same  as  other  rail- 
roads; namely,  by  purchasing  the  different  parts, 
here  and  there,  from  manufacturers,  and  carry- 
ing on  the  work  in  the  same  way  in  which  stand- 
ard railroads  were   built.      This  suggested  the 


j^^y\n 


American  Standard  Passenger  Coach.  The  furniture  of  this  car  consists  of 
double  seats  for  sixty  passengers,  toilet  rooms  at  either  end,  for  ladies  and 
gentlemen,  respectively;  drinking  water,  fire  extinguishers,  tools  needed  in 
case  of  disaster,  lights  and  steam-heating  apparatus,  supplemented  by  stoves. 


thought  to  him  that  if  a  manufacturer  devoted 
himself  wholly  to  the  construction  of  the  pat- 
terns used  for  narrow  gauge,  portable  railroads, 
he  might  be  able  to  greatly  lessen  the  cost  of  the 
items,  and,  by  doing  so,  create  a  demand  for  the 
road,  that  did  not  then  exist.  Accordingly,  he 
started  the  Petit-Bourg  works,  which  his  genius 


LOCOMOTIVES  AND  CARS. 


217 


served  to  make  a  success  from  the  first.  Curi- 
ously enougli  the  location  of  his  manufactory 
formed  at  one  time  a 
part  of  the  grounds  sur- 
rounding the  magnifi- 
cent chateau  of  Mme. 
de  Montespan,  the  last 
of  the  mistresses  of 
Louis  XIV.  of  France 
and  the  mother  of  his 
children.  Thus,  from 
being  a  place  of  illicit 

love,     it      became     the  American  Reversible  Seat. 

seat  of  one   of  the  greatest   industries   of    the 
world.     Decauville's   plan  was  to  take  the  raw 

material  and,  with  the  aid 
of  suitable  machinery  and 
lal)or,  make  it  into  the  various 
things  that  are  essential  to  a 
complete  narrow  gauge,  porta- 
ble railroad,  including  the 
equipment.  He  designed  his 
railroads  to  be  used  for  han- 
dling stone  at  quarries,  haul- 
ing sugar  cane,  lime,  logs  and 
other  forest  products,  material 
and   dirt   about   great   works, 

ly  to  clear  the  seat  and  then    public  aud  otherwisO,  and  par- 
shoved  across.  ^.  •  1  •  1 

ticularly  tor  military  pur- 
poses in  the  mountain  and  unimproved  districts 
and  on  the  frontiers  of  Asia,  India,  Africa,  and  sim- 
ilar isolated  localities.     In  those  cases  where  his 


American  Reversible  Seat. 
The  back  is  raised  sutficient- 


218 


RAILWAY  EQUIPMENT. 


roads  were  to  be  used  in  remote  or  inaccessible 
parts  of  the  world,  his  plan  contemplated  their 
manufacture  from  metals  and  other  practically 
indestructible  materials.  Thus,  the  ties  of  his 
railroad  were  of  metal,  according  to  the  general 

design  of  such  devices, 
only  much  lighter.  It 
was  necessary,  above  all 
things,  that  his  railroad 
should  be  easily  put  to- 
gether on  the  ground. 
This  required  that  it 
should  be  light  and  port- 
able. To  be  readily 
salable,  it  must  also  be 
cheap,  but  at  the  same 
time,  capable  of  haul- 
ing very  heavy  loads.  The  Marquis  d'Andelarre, 
in  presenting  a  medal  of  honor  to  M.  Decauville 
for  his  devices,  spoke  of  him  as  the  manufac- 
turer of  a  lilliputian  railroad,  able  to  move 
mountains.  This  is  not  an  exaggeration,  for 
Decauville's  railroad  was  based  upon  the  prin- 
ciple of  a  division  of  the  burden  over  a  number 
of  wheels  proportionate  to  the  load.  Thus,  when 
the  load  could  be  divided,  as  in  the  case  of  earth, 
brick,  lime,  or  the  products  of  the  farm,  the 
weight  was  split  up  into  parts,  varying  from  two 
hundred  and  fifty  to  five  hundred  kilograms,  each 
part  being  placed  on  a  small  car  with  four  wheels. 
If,  on  the  contrary,  the  load  was  indivisible,  like 
a  cannon,  or  the  trunk  of  a  great  tree,  the  weight 


American  Reclining  Chairs. 


LOCOMOTIVES  AND  CARS. 


219 


American  Dining  Car. 

was  distributed  over  a  proportionate  number  of 
trucks. 

An  important  thing  in  connection  with  the 
narrow  gauge  portable  railroad  is  that  the  rails 
form  but  one  piece  with  the  ties,  which  are  riv- 
eted to  them.    The  rails  and  the  ties  resemble  a 


American  Parlor  Car. 


220 


RAIL  WA  Y   EQ  UIPMENT. 


Roumanian  State  Car. 


ladder.  The  track  is  furnished  curved  or  straight 
as  the  needs  of  railway  construction  require. 
The  weight  of  a  section  of  four  metres,  (Of  50 
gauge)  is  forty-six  kilograms,  including  the  ties, 
so  that  a  section  of  the  road  may  be  easily  car- 
ried by  a  man  of  ordinary  strength.  The  road 
may  be  laid  anywhere  upon  level  ground  with- 
out the  intervention  of  experts  or  the  use  of  tech- 
nical appliances  of  any  kind.  Indeed,  it  is  so 
simple  that  it  is  possible  in  many  cases  (a  ma- 
jority of  cases,  it  is  said),  to  lay  it  as  fast  as  an 


Austrian  Imperial  Saloon  Car. 


LOCOMOTIVES  AND  CARS. 


221 


jfc^-     A 


^M^ 


:-H 


Joint  Service  Compartment  and  Passenger  Car. 

ordinal'}^  armj^  marches.  The  practicabilitj^  of 
this  appears  easier  of  falfillment  when  it  is 
known  that  the  manufacturers  of  these  read}^- 
made  raih'oads  deliver  them  complete,  ready  for 
use,  boxed,  very   much  as  manufacturers  do  a 


American  Vestibule  Car. 


9-;-> 


RAILWAY  EQUIPMENT. 


cooking  stove.  The  success  of  manufactories  of 
portable  narrow  guage  railroads  was  assured  the 
moment  it  was  demonstrated  that  the}^  could  be 
built  cheaply  and  were,  in  all  respects,  durable 


An  Apartment  in  a  Palace  Car. 


and  serviceable.  A  demand  at  once  sprang  up 
for  them,  not  only  for  handling  the  industrial 
products  of  the  world,  but  for  military  purposes 
in  far-off  countries.  They  were  thus  used  by  the 
English  in  Afghanistan  and  by  the  Russians  in 


LOCOMOTIVES  AND  CARS. 


223 


standard  American  Sleeping  and  High- Class  Passeuger  Gar. 

Central  Asia.  In  India  the  railroads  were  car- 
ried ready  for  use  on  the  backs  of  elephants,  and 
in  Turkestan  on  the  backs  of  camels.  These  ani- 
mals marched  along  the  proposed  line  distribut- 
ing their  burden  where  needed.  The  animal 
carrjdng  the  track  was  followed  by  one  carrying 
a  locomotive,  another  with  cars  and  another 
with  fuel  and  other  appurtenances.  The  loco- 
motives used  on  these  roads  are  in  some  cases 
propelled  by  com- 


pressed air;  on  others 
again  by  electricity. 
Steam,  however,  is 
generally  used  as  in 
the  case  of  standard 
railroads. 

The  manufactur- 
ers of  portable  rail- 
roads not  only  con- 
struct the  track, 
turnouts,  switches, 
and  everything  per- 
taining thereto,  but 
the  locomotives  and 
cars  needed  by  the 
industries    they  are 


Apartments  in  an  American  Palace  Car. 


224 


RAIL  WA  Y   EQ  UIPMENT. 


intended  to  serve.  The  locomotives  vv^eigh  from 
three  to  ten  tons,  according  to  the  requirements 
of  the  situation.  The  cars  of  portable  railroads 
look  more  like  toys  than  useful  implements  com- 
pared with  standard  cars.  There  are  vehicles 
especially  built  for  use  in  handling  earth,  stores, 
stone,  brick,  wood,  sugar  cane,  grain,  garden 
truck,  fertilizing  matter,  and  for  every  other 
purpose  that  the  requirements  of  the  case  de- 


Americau  Palace  Car  for  Dav  and  Night 


Use. 


mand.  The  vehicles  intended  for  military  uses 
are  generally  constructed  of  metal.  They  are 
thus  practically  indestructible.  Military  cars 
are,  moreover,  adaptable  for  the  carriage  of 
either  men  or  munitions  of  war.  The  cars  are 
packed  and  shipped  ready  for  use,  just  as  croquet 
sets  are  packed  by  manufacturers.  It  is  this  fea- 
ture, namely,  that  the  railroad  is  ready  for  use 


LOCOMOTIVES  AND  CARS. 


225 


when  delivered  and  does  not  require  experts  to 
construct  it  which  makes  it  so  attractive  to  those 
who  have  use  for  such  a  contrivance. 


Before  concluding  this  chapter  on  manufacto- 
ries, I  am  led  to  say  a  word  in  regard  to  a  prac- 
tice that  has  grown  up  to  a  certain  extent  at 
railroad  shops  (manufactories),  of  officers  and 
employes  associating  themselves  together  for  the 


Compartment  Car,  New  South  Wales.  Accommodation:  24  first-class  day 
passengers  or  14  first-class  night  passengers;  80  second-class  passengers. 
Length  of  car,  46  ft. 

purpose  of  discussing  matters  connected  with 
their  daily  work.  I  have  not  myself  had  suffi- 
cient acquaintance  with  the  needs  of  the  situa- 
tion to  be  familiar  with  all  its  requirements, 
but  some  of  those  who  have  achieved  deserved 
distinction  in  connection  with  the  manufacturing 
and  maintenance  of  railway  equipment  are  ear- 
nest advocates  of  such  associations  or  grouphigs 
as  that  referred  to.  They  believe  that  the  dis- 
cussions these  meetings  will  call  forth  will  ha^^e 

15    Vol.  I 


226 


RAILWAY  EQUIPMENT. 


the  effect  to  aid  in  arriving  at  a  better  under- 
standing of  the  many  questions  that  arise  in 
connection  with  the  daily  work  in  shops  and 
about  which  men  differ  and  continue  to  differ 
mainly  because  they  do  not  have  the  benefit  of 
each  other's  experience  and  wisdom.    Those  who 


Austrian  Compartment  Sleeping  Car.  The  apartments  off  this  passage- 
way are  distinct  and  capable  of  accommodating  two  people  and  are  supplieu 
with  the  accessories  common  to  toilet  rooms. 

advocate  these  associations  believe  in  them  as  an 
educational  medium  highly  beneficial  to  those 
immediately  concerned,  and  to  the  emplo^^er  as 
well.  They  believe  that  these  meetings  will  not 
only  disseminPtte  knowledge  but  give  birth  to  a 
spirit  of  emulation.    Every  ambitious,  growing 


LOCOMOTIVES  AND  CARS. 


227 


man  is  benefited  (I  do  not  say  pleased)  by  having 
his  ideas  reviewed  and  criticised.  He  is  thus 
shown  the  weak  points  in  his  makeup.  Opposi- 
tion has  the  effect  also  to  spur  him  on  to  renewed 


American  Apartment  Car.  The  doors  between  the  compartments,  as 
shown  in  the  perspective,  close,  making  each  a  distinct  room  with  a  door 
ojjening  into  a  common  passage  way.  What  is  known  as  a  compartment  car 
in  other  countries  has  a  distinct  entrance  from  the  station  platform  for  each 
compartment.  In  many  cases  each  car  has  compartments  for  first,  second  and 
ihird -class  traffic. 

efforts.  Man's  pride  as  well  as  his  energy  and 
ambition  push  him  on  through  life.  For  these 
and  other  reasons  monthly  meetings  of  those  en- 
gaged  in  shop  work,  it  is   thought,  will   prove 


228 


RAIL WA Y   EQUIPMENT, 


highly  advantageous  both  to  them  and  the  com- 
pany they  work  for.  These  weekly  or  monthly 
meetings,  made  up  as  they  will  be  of  many  small 
groups  of  men  engaged  in  analogous  work,  may 
in  turn  be  supplemented  by  general  meetings  of 
all  the  groups,  or  of  delegates  selected  therefrom. 


American  Observation  Car. 


At  some  shops  there  has  been  introduced  in  con- 
nection with  such  associations  as  those  referred 
to  what  is  known  as  a  question  box.  Any  in- 
formation anyone  desires  he  propounds  in  the 
shape  of  a  question  and  drops  it  into  the  box. 
When  a  meeting  occurs,  the  question  is  read  and 
discussed  and,  if  necessary,  a  committee  appointed 


LOCOMOTIVES  AND  CARS. 


229 


to  give  it  needed  consideration.  As  a  rule  meet- 
ings of  employes  of  shops  for  discussion,  such  as 
I  have  referred  to,  are  not  common  on  railroads. 
Many  companies,  however,  require  such  meet- 
ings of  their  managers  and  superintendents. 
Those  who  advocate  the  extension  of  the  prac- 
tice believe  that  those  who  work  in  shops  and 
about  roundhouses  and  locomotives  will  also  be 
benefited  by  such  meetings.  They  contend,  as 
already  pointed  out,  that  such  associations  will 
have  the  effect  to  stimulate  and  enlighten  men. 
We  all  know  that  it  is  only  by  intercourse  with 
those  about  us  we  can  be  impressed  with  the 
smallness  of  our  own 
knowledge  com- 
pared with  that  of 
men  collectively. 
The  man  who  lives 
apart  from  his  broth- 
ers is  always  more  or  less  of  an  egotist.  He  is 
filled  with  silly  notions  of  the  value  of  his  own 
ideas,  when  as  a  matter  of  fact  they  are  usually 
of  little  or  no  account.  For  these  and  other  rea- 
sons it  is  believed  that  the 
organization  of  railroads 
about  their  shops  may  be 
heightened  by  such  associ- 
ations of  employes  for  pur- 
poses of  discussion  and 
mutual  enlightenment  as 
those  referred  to. 


steel  Bogie  Truck, 


Passenger  Truck,  Austrian 
Railway. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE  MACHINERY  DEPARTMENT. —  CARE  AND  MAIN- 
TENANCE OF  LOCOMOTIVES  AND  CARS.  ARRANGE- 
MENT    OF    RAILROAD    SHOPS    AND     ROUNDHOUSES. 

Before  proceeding  to  discuss  the  questions  that 
properly  come  under  tliis  chapter  head,  I  may  say, 
in  parenthesis,  that  the  varied  duties  and  great 
responsibilities  inseparably  attaching  to  those 
immediately  in  charge  of  the  machinery  depart- 
ment of  railroads,  grow  each  day  in  the  estima- 
tion of  railway  owners  and  managers.  This  is 
because  the  subject  is  better  understood  each 
day.  With  the  evolution  of  railroads,  it  becomes 
more  and  more  apparent  that  the  machinery 
department,  embracing  equipment  and  shops, 
must  be  in  charge  of  those  who,  by  experience, 
education  and  mental  faculties,  are  fitted  to  un- 
derstand and  direct  the  vast  interests  involved. 
In  the  early  history  of  railroads,  men  w^ere 
thought  fit  to  be  master  mechanics  or  superin- 
tendents of  cars  if  they  had  been  good  black- 
smiths or  master  carpenters,  respectively.  For 
a  long  while  it  was  very  hard  to  disabuse  the 
minds  of  managers  of  railways  of  this  false  im- 
pression, but  now  there  is  a  marked  tendency  to 
rank  those  in  charge  of  the  machinery  depart- 
ment with  the  highest  operating  officers,  and  to 

(230) 


THE  MACHINERY  DEPARTMENT.  231 

expect  of  them  corresponding  talent.  This  just 
distinction  is  destined  to  be  permanent  and  to 
increase,  rather  than  diminish,  with  the  progress 
of  railway  development.  The  questions  involved 
in  connection  with  the  equipment  and  shops  of 
railways,  and  the  vast  number  of  men  of  varied 
temperament  and  ability  employed,  require  men 
of  the  highest  possible  talent  and  experience  to 
wisely  direct.  I  have  not  attempted,  either  in 
this  volume  or  elsewhere,  to  enter  into  anything 
like  a  detpJled  account  of  the  duties  and  respon- 
sibilities of  the  superior  and  minor  officials  of  the 
machinery  department.  The  subject  is  too  com- 
plex to  be  taken  up  by  itself.  To  understand  it, 
one  must  understand  everything  connected  with 
the  equipment  of  railways  and,  as  this  is  the 
subject  of  the  present  volume,  I  leave  it  to  the 
reader  himself  to  judge,  as  here  portrayed,  how 
great  and  varied  must  be  the  responsibilities  of 
those  in  charge  of  the  machinery  of  railroads. 


The  care  of  the  locomotives  and  cars  of  rail- 
roads after  they  have  been  completed  is  one  of 
the  greatest  industries  of  the  world.  The  wear 
and  tear  of  these  vehicles,  while  largely  depend- 
ent upon  the  nature  of  the  roadbed  and  the  speed 
of  trains,  are  very  great  under  the  most  favorable 
circumstances.  Exposure  and  hard  usage  soon 
necessitate  repairs  which  multiply  until  the  loco- 
motive or  car  finally  collapses,  requiring  to  be  re- 
built or  replaced.    It  may  have  lasted  ten  years, 


232  RAILWAY   EQUIPMENT. 

even  longer,  but  its  final  destruction  is  only  a 
question  of  time. 

The  repair  and  renewal  of  locomotives  and 
cars  require  adequate  shops,  convenient  tracks 
and  much  costly  and  complicated  machinery. 
Moreover,  the  improvements  which  are  daily 
made  in  connection  with  locomotives  and  cars, 
add  greatly  to  the  outlay  of  capital  connected 
with  shop  work. 

The  force  engaged  about  the  shops  and  round- 
houses of  railroads  constitutes  a  vast  and  intelli- 
gent army.  Its  technical  skill  is  of  the  highest 
order,  and  anything  that  throws  light  on  the 
construction,  care  and  maintenance  of  cars  and 
locomotives,  it  carefully  studies.  No  class  of 
men,  it  is  probable,  is  more  eager  to  acquire  use- 
ful knowledge.  It  was  this  fact  that  suggested 
the  necessity  of  incorporating  in  the  '' Science  of 
Railways''  a  volume  devoted  to  "Railway  Equip- 
ment," and  the  organization  of  shops  and  the 
regulation  of  the  forces  connected  therewith. 
There  are  a  great  many  men  of  talent  and  enter- 
prise engaged  in  the  machinery  department  of 
railroads,  but  there  are  few  understanding  the 
subject  in  all  its  bearings,  who  can  be  induced  to 
write  down  w^hat  they  know  for  the  benefit  of 
others  less  favored.  The  officials  connected  with 
this  branch  of  the  service  are  not  only  very  busy, 
but,  like  all  men  of  talent  and  affairs,  modest 
about  exploiting  their  knowledge.  Yet  there  is 
no  one  whose  opinion  is  of  marked  value  in 
regard  to  the  equipment  of  railroads   and  the 


THE  MACHINERY  DEPARTMENT.  233 

shop  work  connected  therewith,  except  those 
who,  by  their  daily  occupation,  are  familiar  with 
the  varied  requirements  of  this  branch  of  the 
service.  Because  of  this,  information,  when 
obtainable  from  such  authoritative  source,  is 
invaluable.* 

The  machinery  department  of  railroads  is,  as  I 
have  already  remarked,  growing  in  the  estima- 
tion of  railway  owners  and  managers.  It  was 
never  so  highly  esteemed  as  at  this  moment. 
Its  great  importance  impresses  itself  more  and 
more  upon  the  railway  world.  We  see  clearly, 
with  the  growth  of  business,  that  the  highest 
class  of  talent  is  required  to  manage  its  great 
and  diversified  interests. 

The  value  of  a  railroad  is  dependent,  it  may  be 
said,  not  only  upon  the  stability  of  its  track, 
station  and  train  service,  but  upon  the  fitness  of 
its  locomotives  and  cars  and  the  efficiency  dis- 
played in  their  construction  and  care.  This 
branch  of  the  service  is  one  of  supreme  import- 
ance and,  as  we  progress,  we  see  men  of  higher 
and  higher  education,  talent  and  experience, 
selected  to  fill  its  offices.  These  officials,  em- 
bracing Superintendents  of  Motive  Power,  Mas- 
ter Mechanics,  Superintendents  of  Cars  and  their 
assistants,  are  consulted  more  than  formerly  and 
are  better  rewarded.  Their  great  usefulness  and 
discretion  can  no  longer  be  ignored. 

*  This  is  why  I  have  sought  in  every  way  throughout  this 
volume  to  supplement  what  I  write  with  the  direct  advice  and 
assistance  of  those  who  have  daily  practical  knowledge  of  the 
workings  and  needs  of  the  machinery  departments  of  railroads. 


234  RAILWAY  EQUIPMENT. 

It  is  said  that  with  the  introduction  of  steam 
in  the  navy  the  engineering  department  thereof 
has  become  an  adjunct  of  tlie  greatest  possible 
importance,  but  because  of  the  oversight  of  those 
who  are  at  the  head  of  some  of  the  navy  depart- 
ments of  the  work],  and  the  opposition  of  those 
immediately  in  charge  of  the  ships  (born  of  prej- 
udice and  jealousy),  no  adequate  recognition  of 
the  engineering  department  has  occurred,  and,  in 
consequence,  the  navy  is  much  crippled  thereby. 
This  can  not  now  be  justly  said  of  the  machinery 
department  of  railroads,  or,  at  least,  of  all  rail- 
roads. In  early  days  men  skilled  in  the  techni- 
calities of  machinery,  and  especially  educated  to 
fill  supervisory  positions  in  connection  therewith 
could  not  be  found,  and,  consequently,  railroad 
companies  were  compelled  to  put  up  with  such 
service  as  they  could  secure.  This  condition  of 
affairs  no  longer  exists.  Men  are  more  and  more 
qualifying  themselves  for  position  by  scientific 
instruction  in  polytechnic  schools,  and  elsewhere 
by  private  instruction  and  practical  observation 
and  experience.  There  is,  therefore,  no  longer  the 
clumsiness,  ignorance  and  stupidity  displayed  as 
in  the  first  days  of  railroad  operations,  when 
shops  were  built  without  reference  to  continuity 
of  work  or  the  economical  handling  of  machin- 
ery, material  and  men.'^  To-day,  as  far  as  new 
enterprises  are  projected,  or  it  is  possible  to  rem- 


*Tl]is  important  pliase  of  railway  equipment,  namely,  care 
and  housing  of  material,  I  discuss  in  the  volume  <*  Disburse- 
ments of  Railways." 


THE  MA  CHINER  Y  DEPAR  T2IENT.  235 

edy  the  faults  of  earlier  times,  shop  facilities  are 
such  as  tc  secure  expedition  and  economy. 

An  adequate  description  of  the  care  and  main- 
tenance of  locomotives  and  cars,  while  of  the 
greatest  possible  necessity  and  value  to  railroads 
and  to  railroad  men,  is  yet  a  thing  unknown,  so 
far  as  we  have  anything  emanating  from  those 
directly  engaged  in  this  field.  We  have  many 
able  and  valuable  books  and  essaj^s  written  by 
those  who  have  been  engineers,  or  who  possess 
great  capacity  of  observation  and  description, 
but  nothing  from  the  masters  themselves — from 
those  who  not  only  understand  the  forces  and 
principles  which  underlie  the  organization  of  the 
machinery  department,  but  are  actually  in  direc- 
tion thereof,  because  of  their  talent,  experience 
and  worldly  knowledge.  Such  an  account  as  this 
I  have  been  so  fortunate  as  to  obtain  through 
the  co-operation  I  have  received  in  the  prepara- 
tion of  this  chapter.  It  is  from  a  gentleman  who 
is  everywhere  recognized  as  a  potent  force  in 
railway  operation;  a  man  at  once  practical  and 
scientific;  a  philosopher,  and  yet  a  daily  worker 
and  manager.  Because  of  these  varied  accom- 
plishments, what  he  has  to  say  has  the  force  of 
reflection  as  well  us  of  practical  knowledge.  The 
gentleman  I  refer  to  is  Mr.  Robert  Quayle.*  My 
own  experience,  while  considerable  and  extend- 
ing over  some  forty  years  of  service,  is  not  such 
as  to  enable  me  to  discuss  the  subject  of  machin- 
ery authoritatively  in  all  its  bearings.  There  are 
many  things  connected  with   organization  and 

^President  of  the  American  Railway  Master  Mechanics* 
Association. 


236  RAILWAY  EQUIPMENT. 

needs,  however,  which  my  knowledge  makes 
familiar  to  me  and  with  which  it  is  not  neces- 
sary to  couple  technical  information  in  regard 
to  machinery  and  its  ramifications  to  make  use- 
ful. This  knowledge,  while  of  little  technical 
value,  is  yet  necessary  as  a  corollary. 

The  gentleman  referred  to  above  who  has  so 
kindly  come  to  my  aid  is,  as  I  have  intimated, 
well  known  throughout  the  railway  world  by 
superintendents  of  motive  power,  master  me- 
chanics, superintendents  of  cars,  and  others 
connected  with  the  machinery  department  of 
railroads.  He  has  had  many  years  of  practical 
experience,  first  in  connection  w^ith  the  technical 
details  and  routine  work  of  the  machinery  de- 
partment and  afterward  in  charge  of  the  organi- 
zation and  arrangement  of  the  equipment  of  a 
great  and  well- managed  railway.  He  has  not 
only  experience,  but  talent  of  a  very  high  order. 
What  he  advocates  is  practicable.  This  chapter 
is,  moreover,  greatly  enhanced  in  value,  in  my 
estimation,  by  the  highly  practical  suggestions 
it  contains  from  Mr.  G.  W.  Rhodes,  generally 
recognized  throughout  the  world  as  one  of  the 
foremost  men  connected  with  the  machinery  de- 
partment of  railroads.  He  has  charge  of  such  a 
department  for  a  railroad,  comprising  some  eight 
thousand  miles  of  line.  This,  added  to  his  long 
practical  knowledge  of  details,  eminently  fits 
him  to  judge  of  the  shop  needs  of  railways. 

With  the  foregoing  explanations  I  will  pro- 
ceed, without  further  introduction,  to  take  up 


THE  MACHINERY  DEPARTMENT.  237 

the  subject  matter  of  this  chaj^ter.  In  it  I  de- 
sign to  point  out  the  methods  by  which  certain 
fundamental  objects  connected  with  the  machin- 
ery department  of  railways  may  be  obtained  in 
an  efficient  and  economical  manner.  In  connec- 
tion with  the  question  of  the  locomotive,  I  shall 
first  take  up  the  location  of  roundhouses  and 
shops,  and  incidentally,  the  location  of  the  ma- 
chinery they  contain;  afterward,  the  question  of 
repairs  of  locomotives  while  they  are  in  use. 
Then  repairs  of  a  more  extended  nature  will  be 
referred  to. 

While  locomotives  may  be  made  to  perform 
efficient  service  for  a  long  period  of  time  by  care- 
fully attending  to  petty  repairs  from  day  to  day, 
sooner  or  later  they  wear  out  and,  when  this 
becomes  the  case,  it  is  necessary  to  withdraw 
them  from  the  service  for  substantial  renewals. 
Under  this  latter  head  this  chapter  treats  of  the 
location,  design  and  equipment  of  repair  shops 
and  the  organization  of  labor  and  the  supervisory 
force  connected  therewith.  Following  this  it 
takes  up  the  care  and  maintenance  of  cars  in  the 
same  order,  describing  first  their  care  and  after- 
ward explaining  the  methods  of  keeping  them  in 
repair  while  in  daily  use.  This  is  followed  by  an 
account  of  appliances  for  renewing  or  rebuilding 
cars,  including  the  organization  of  the  shops  and 
the  labor  and  superintendence  connected  there- 
with And  in  connection  with  these  subjects  it 
must  not  be  forgotten  that  the  equipment  of  a 
raih'oad  requires  constant  and  minute  inspection 


238  RAILWAY  EQUIPMENT. 

and  daily,  even  hourly,  repair.  This  watchful- 
ness extends  over  the  whole  period  during  which 
it  is  in  active  use,  from  the  time  it  is  constructed 
until  it  is  finally  worn  out.  Incidentally,  it  may 
also  be  said  that  the  care  and  maintenance  of  the 
rolling  stock  of  a  company  require,  in  order  to 
carry  on  the  work  effectively  and  economically, 
needed  facilities  and  appliances  of  the  highest 
order,  embracing  adequate  grounds,  suitable 
buildings  and  machinery,  convenient  storehouses, 
faithful  and  skilled  workmen,  and  a  supervisory 
force  of  the  highest  order.  These  things  are  fun- 
damental. 

Taking  up  the  subjects  which  I  have  briefly 
summarized,  comes  first  the 

Care  of  Locomotives. — In  operating  the  loco- 
motives of  a  company,  suitable  buildings  ar- 
ranged for  their  shelter  must  be  provided  at 
needed  places  along  the  line  of  road.  These 
must,  moreover,  be  fitted  with  such  appliances 
as  may  be  necessary  to  enable  those  in  charge  to 
perform  such  work  on  the  locomotives  housed 
therein  as  the  necessities  of  daily  service  require. 

In  the  United  States  the  buildings  I  refer  to 
are  usually  of  a  circular  or  partially  circular 
form,  and  so  located  as  to  be  readily  reached 
from  the  main  line.  They  are  provided  with  a 
turn-table  connecting  with  all  the  tracks  in  the 
house.  These  buildings  because  of  their  shape 
are  known  as  "roundhouses."  Such  a  house  is 
needed  at  places  where  the  requirements  of  the 
service  render  it  necessary  to  station  engines  or 


THE  MACHINERY  DEPARTMENT. 


239 


to  keep  them  temporarily,  say  at  the  junctions  of 
divisions,  at  the  termini  of  particular  trains  and 
other  places  where  engines  must  be  housed. 
While  the  locomotives  are  thus  protected  they 
receive  the  simple  repairs  which  the  exigencies 
of  the  service  require.  So  that  while  these 
buildings  may  be  called  roundhouses  and  are,  in 
the  main,  designed  simply  to  house  locomotives 
overnight  or    temporarily,    they  are    also,  in   a 


SO''  HOP 


80  A^i> 


ik 


r/fJ>/i'JfS/l  r/^BLC     41  a  X  7ZS 


/2S   x^Si^O 


The  dimensious  will,  of  course,  be  increased  or  decreased  according  to 
the  amount  of  work  to  be  done. 

measure,  repair  shops,  where  such  appliances  are 
kept  in  the  way  of  machinery  and  skilled  work- 
men as  the  needs  of  the  service  require.  In 
view  of  this,  it  is  proper  to  call  them  machine 
shops. 

At  important  centers  there  are  one  or  more 
buildings,  apart  from  the  roundhouse,  especially 
provided  Avith  the  machinery  needed  for  making 
repairs.     In   any   event,  however,  many  repairs 


240  RAILWAY  EQUIPMENT, 

are  made  in  every  roundhouse.  There  it  is  in- 
tended the  engine  shall  be  cleaned,  inspected 
and  fitted  for  the  road.  It  is,  therefore,  it  will 
be  seen,  a  place  of  the  greatest  importance  in  the 
machinery  department.* 

When  in  the  suburban  service  of  a  railroad 
locomotives  run  to  several  adjacent  stations  on 
schedules  which  necessitate  their  being  held  over 
at  two  or  more  points,  it  may  be  economical  to 
locate  the  roundhouse  at  an  intermediate  station 
rather  than  the  terminal,  running  the  engine 
back  and  forth  between  the  roundhouse  and  the 
points  from  which  it  starts.  By  so  doing,  labor 
may  be  concentrated  and,  therefore,  more  profit- 
ably employed  and  at  the  same  time  necessary 
furnishings  and  accessories  minimized.  Gener- 
ally speaking,  however,  it  may  be  said  that  the 
location  of  roundhouses  must  be  governed  by 
conditions  which  can  only  be  determined  by 
special  investigation  in  each  case. 

The  ground  for  the  roundhouse  should  be 
selected  with  a  view  to  drainage  and  should  be 
amply  protected  in  this  respect.  If  there  are 
repair  shops  apart  from  it,  convenient  tracks 
connecting  the  two  should  be  arranged. 


*  "  In  order  that  the  work  may  be  done  effectively,  it  is  im- 
portant that  the  roundhouse  shall  be  well  lighted.  This  can 
be  done  in  the  daytime  by  j)lenty  of  windows  and  at  night  by 
electric  lighting  when  practicable.  The  light  will  be  much 
improved  by  reflection  from  whitewashed  interiors.  As  round- 
houses contain  much  valuable  property,  it  will  be  well  to  make 
provision  against  fires  by  building  fire  walls  every  ten  or  twenty 
Btalls."— J/r.  G.  W.  Rhodes. 


THE  MA  CHIXER  Y  DEPAR  TMENT.  24 1 

The  design  of  the  roundhouse  and  its  arrange- 
ment give  little  scope  for  artistic  display.  The 
important  things  to  be  considered  are  first,  cost, 
afterward,  expense  of  maintenance  and,  finally, 
convenient  and  economical  arrangement  for 
use.  Roundhouses  should  be  protected  as  far  as 
possible  from  frost,  and  in  cold  climates  should 
be  built  with  that  view,  either  of  brick,  stone  or 
other  suitable  substance.  They  must  be  deep 
enough  to  admit  the  longest  locomotive  with 
tender  and  allow  ample  margin  at  either  end. 
Each  stall  or  track  should  be  provided  with  a  pit 
as  long  as  the  engine  and  tender  and  deep  enough 
to  enable  workmen  standing  therein  to  clean  or 
repair  such  parts  of  the  machine  as  are  not  other- 
wise accessible.  The  pit  should  be  provided  with 
steam  piping  around  its  sides  for  heating  pur- 
poses. This  piping  should  be  securely  fastened  or 
protected  so  as  to  prevent  employes,  when  getting 
into  or  climbing  from  the  pit,  from  loosening  the 
joints  and  thereby  rendering  the  appliance  un- 
serviceable or  in  need  of  repairs.  The  method 
described  of  heating  the  roundhouse  is  superior 
to  all  others,  as  it  is  important  that  the  heat 
should  be  concentrated  directly  under  the  prin- 
cipal machinery  of  the  engine,  so  that  Avhen 
frozen  or  covered  with  snow  and  ice  these  parts 
may  be  quickly  thawed  out,  cleaned  and  inspected 
and,  if  necessary,  repaired.*     The  pits  should  be 

*<'In  cold  climates  low,  flat  roofs  are  very  generally  used. 
Such  construction  largely  reduces  the  square  feet  of  area  whiclj 
it  is  necessary  to  heat." — Mr.  G.  W.  Rhodes. 

16    Vol.  1 


2r. 


RAILWAY  EQUIPMENT. 


j)rovicled  with  adequate  draining  facilities  and 
sewer  connections.  Especial  attention  should  be 
given  to  sewerage,  also  the  provision  for  carrying 
off  the  sediment  and  incrustation  from  the  boilers 
without  blocking  the  drains.     Hydrants  should 


The  dimensions  will,  of  course,  be  increased  or 
decreased,  according  to  the  amount  of  work  to  be 
done. 

be  placed  between  the  pits,  conveniently 
located  for  attacliing  hose  for  washing  the 
boilers  and  filling  the  tanks.  The  piping  in 
the  roundhouse  should,  so  far  as  possible,  be 
placed  near  the  roof  and  in  the  center  of  the 
building.  The  steam  pipes,  while  carefully  pro- 
tected, should  be  exposed  throughout,  so  as  to 
facilitate  inspection  and  repair. 


THE  MA  CHINER  Y  DEPAR  TMENT.  243 

The  floor  of  the  roundhouse  is  an  important 
matter.  It  should  be  built  of  material  that  will 
stand  the  wear  and  tear  of  heavy  trucks  and  the 
blows  received  from  falling  pieces  of  machinery. 
It  should  be  sufficiently  substantial  to  resist 
the  pressure  of  the  jacks  used  in  raising  the 
locomotives. 

Light  may  be  provided  by  windows  in  the  rear 
of  the  building  and,  if  necessary,  by  inserting 
panes  of  glass  in  the  doors.  Skylights,  if  neces- 
sary, may  be  used.  The  doors  of  the  roundhouse 
should  open  outward.  They  should  also  be  strong 
and  securely  hung.  They  require  to  be  provided 
with  catches  for  fastening  them  when  open  and 
holding  them  when  closed.  The  building  should 
have  a  substantial  roof,  so  constructed  as  to 
evade,  as  much  as  possible,  the  corroding  action 
of  the  smoke  and  gases  from  the  locomotives. 
Funnels  for  carrying  the  smoke  and  gas  above 
the  roof  will  be  found  valuable  devices  in  this 
connection. 

The  roundhouse  should  be  equipped  with  such 
assortment  of  WTenches,  bars,  ratchets,  jacks,  air 
motors,  tools  and  work  benches  as  the  service  re- 
quires. Except  at  very  small  roundhouses,  neces- 
sary tools  for  drilling,  turning  and  planing  should 
be  provided.  At  large  roundhouses  these  should  be 
supplemented  by  tools  for  facing  valve  seats,  bor- 
ing cylinders,  drilling  out  and  replacing  stay-bolts, 
and  other  work  of  like  character  incident  to  daily 
service.  When  there  is  not  a  central  power 
plant,  the  roundhouse  should  be  provided  with  a 


244  RAILWAY  EQUIPMENT. 

boiler  for  generating  steam  for  heating  purposes 
and  providing  needed  power.  If  very  high  water 
pressure  is  not  available,  a  steam  pump  of  suflB- 
cient  capacity  to  afford  ample  water  at  high 
pressure  should  be  provided  for  boiler  washing. 
The  advantages  afforded  by  use  of  compressed  air 
in  connection  with  roundhouse  work  make  an  air 
compressor  a  valuable  part  of  the  equipment 
wherever  considerable  work  is  done.  A  sufficient 
reservoir  for  air  storage  should  be  provided. 

Drop  pits  wdth  power  lifts  for  removing  trucks 
and  driving  wheels  are  necessary  where  much 
work  of  this  nature  is  to  be  performed.*  These 
may  be  operated  to  advantage  by  compressed  air. 

♦"Driving  box  brasses  and  journals,  it  is  to  be  remarked, 
can  only  be  thoroughly  inspected  and  examined  by  dropping 
out  the  wheels.  When  round-houses  are  not  equipped  with 
these  facilities  a  thorough  inspection  of  the  parts  named  is 
neglected,  resulting  in  a  continuation  of  the  difficulties  with  the 
engine  in  place  of  removing  them.  An  engine  was  recently  cut 
off  of  an  important  train  on  the  line  under  my  charge  with  a  hot 
box.  The  cellar  was  removed  and  the  journal  examined  as  well 
as  it  could  be  without  going  to  the  expense  of  jacking  the  engine 
up,  the  roundhouse  not  being  fitted  with  a  drop  pit.  Nothing 
was  discovered  seriously  wrong,  the  cellar  was  repacked  and 
oiled,  and  the  engine  again  put  into  service.  The  engine  con- 
tinued running  hot  and  it  was  found  its  condition  was  not  bet- 
tered. The  next  roundhouse  the  engine  stopped  at  was  fitted 
with  a  drop  pit,  operated  by  air.  It  took  but  a  short  time  to 
drop  the  wheels  out  and  make  a  thorough  inspection  of  both 
journal  and  brass.  It  was  then  found  that  the  brass  had  been 
so  badly  cut  it  would  be  impossible  for  the  engine  to  run  cool 
until  it  was  equipped  with  a  new  brass.  The  result  of  this  ex- 
perience was  that  a  drop  pit  was  at  once  ordered  for  the  round- 
house that  was  without  one.  I  think  pneumatic  drop  pits  for 
engine  drivers  and  truck  wheels  should  be  in  every  round- 
house on  the  main  line  of  important  roads." — Mr.  G.  W.  Rhodes. 


THE  MACHINERY  DEPARTMENT 


245 


Provision  should  be  made  at  every  roundhouse 
for  the  stores  it  is  necessary  to  keep  on  hand.  In 
small  houses  space  which  would  otherwise  not 
be  used  may  be  utilized  for  this  purpose,  but 
at  large  and  important  places  a  storehouse  is 
needed.  This  may  sometimes  be  advantageously 
attached  to  the  buildings.  In  other  cases  it  w^ill 
be  more  convenient  to  have  it  apart. 

The  foreman's  office  should,  generally,  con- 
nect w4th  or  be  immediately  adjacent  to  the 
storeroom.      All    material   requiring   protection 


lITnTnTCili-iiliTfTTT)   ffnmT 

ODDDDDDDaDDDCi  taaaaaaaanaDaaoaaDooDaaoo 


n 


jy^w  fur/irioir,  enecnire  jko/',  loccMonye  ce/v. 


from  weather  or  thieves,  excepting  oils,  should 
be  kept  securely  locked  in  the  storehouse.  At 
large  roundhouses  a  separate  building,  as  nearly 
fire-proof  as  possible  and  arranged  with  reservoirs 
or  tanks,  should  be  provided  for  oils.  If  located 
below  the  level  of  the  ground,  the  oil  may  be 
drawn  by  pumping  it  directly  from  the  tanks, 
or  compressed  air  may  be  used.  The  latter  is, 
however,  considered  preferable.  The  oil  house 
should  be  built  at  a  sufficient  distance  from  the 
other  buildings  to  prevent  the  fire  spreading  in 
the  event  of  a  conflagration. f 


f  For  further  reference  to  storing  material,  etc.,  see  volume 
•*  Disbursements  of  Railways." 


246 


RAILWAY  EQUIPMENT. 


A  pit  in  which  to  dispose  of  ashes  and  other 
refuse  of  the  ash  pan  should  be  located  near  the 
turn-table;  the  closer  it  is  the  better,  so  as  to 
prevent,  as  far  as  possible,  the  injury  which 
accrues  to  the  flues  by  cold  air  passing  over  the 
grates  after  the  fire  has  been  drawn.  The  clinker 
pit  should  be  large  enough  to  accommodate  all 
the  locomotives  using  the  roundhouse.  As  the 
cinders  which  thus  accumulate  must  be  removed, 
a  depressed  t>;ack,  whereon  the  cars  intended  for 
their  removal  may  stand,  will  be  found  an  eco- 
nomical appliance.  It  should  be  so  located  that 
by  opening  the  door  of  the  clinker  pit  the  cars 
may  be  loaded  by  gravity.* 

The  coal  house,  with  its  contrivances  for  sup- 
plying locomotives  by  gravity,  the  supply  of  sand 

and  the  water  tank,  while 
not  necessarily  appendages 
of  the  roundhouse,  may  be 
so  conveniently  situated  in 
its  vicinity  as  to  be  highly 
desirable.    Local  conditions  will  necessarily  gov- 
ern their  location.   Care  should  be  taken,  however, 
to  so  group  these  supplies  that  the  labor  each 


^/W  fUKnrio/f,  £/>ecr/»s  sua/',  locoMor/vi  ec^. 


*  <<At  some  shops  the  ashes  are  handled  very  economically 
by  the  use  of  air  hoists,  which  avoids  the  necessity  of  a  de- 
pressed track.  Portable  pans  are  placed  in  the  clinker  pit  into 
which  the  clinkers  and  ashes  are  dumped.  These  are  lifted  by 
air  hoists  suspended  to  an  overhead  traveler  and  their  contents 
dumped  into  a  car.  At  some  locations,  on  account  of  poor  drain- 
age, especially  in  low  countries,  depressed  pits  are  not  practi- 
cable. Where  air  hoists  are  used  the  expense  of  the  depressed 
track  may  be  avoided." — Mr.  G.  W.  Rhodes. 


THE  MACHINERY  DEPABTMENT.  247 

requires  may  be  concentrated  so  as  to  be  utilized 
to  its  fullest  extent.  For  instance,  the  sand  and 
water  cranes  should  be  in  such  relation  to  each 
other  that  the  man  in  charge  of  the  engine  may 
take  on  a  supply  of  both  water  and  sand  without 
moving  the  engine. 


Methods  of  organization  covering  the  care  of 
locomotives  merge  with  those  connected  with 
petty  repairs.  The  force  engaged  consists  of 
bodies  of  skilled  and  unskilled  workmen  in  and 
about  the  roundhouse.  The  skilled  workmen 
comprise  machinists  and  boilermakers  and  their 
helpers,  respectively.  The  unskilled  workmen 
embrace  wipers  and  laborers.  At  large  round- 
houses the  boilerwashers  and  helpers  may  con- 
stitute a  distinct  body.  All  receive  instructions 
from,  and  are  responsible  to,  the  foreman  in 
charge.  The  latter  is  subordinate  to  the  master 
mechanic,  and  usually  reports  to  him. 

If  the  number  of  roundhouses  on  a  division  is 
large,  they  may  be  grouped.  In  such  case  the 
foreman  of  each  roundhouse  will,  perhaps,  report 
to  and  receive  instructions  from  a  general  fore- 
man for  the  section,  who,  in  turn^  will  report  to 
the  master  mechanic. 


Kepairs  of  Locomotives. — When  locomotiv^es 
become  much  worn  with  service,  or,  in  other 
words,  need  many  repairs,  the  limited  facilities 
of  the  roundhouse  will  not  suffice.  The  engine 
must  then  be  withdrawn  from  service  and  taken 


c/ioss  sccnoff,  i/iccr/m  sj/i!/;  iocoMor/ys  ccfT. 


248  RAILWAY  EQUIPMENT, 

to  the  general  repair  shops  where  facilities  are 
provided  for  such  work.  It  is  oftentimes  diffi- 
cult to  determine  just  when  this  transfer  should 

be  made.  Much  depends 
upon  the  character  of  the 
service  in  which  the  loco- 
motive is  engaged;  some- 
thing upon  the  character 
of  the  repairs-.  If  life  or  property  is  not  jeop- 
ardized by  continued  use  of  the  locomotive,  it 
becomes  simply  a  question  of  dollars  and  cents: 
if  saving  may  be  effected  by  making  the  repairs, 
they  should  be  made  forthwith;  otherwise  not. 
The  nature  of  the  water  supply  determines,  very 
largely,  the  length  of  time  an  engine  can  be 
kept  in  service.  If  the  water  is  unsuitable,  its 
impurities,  precipitated  by  heat,  accumulate  in 
the  flues  and  upon  the  sheets  of  the  boiler; 
thus  it  may  be  necessary  to  remove  the  flues  as 
often  as  two  or  three  times  a  year,  whereas,  if 
the  water  is  free  from  impurities,  the  flues  may 
last  for  ten  years.  Therefore,  in  order  to  pro- 
long the  usefulness  of  the  flues  and  boiler  sheets, 
and  thus  minimize  cost,  pure  water  should  be 
obtained  whenever  possible.  First  cost  is  unim- 
portant compared  with  expense  of  maintenance 
afterward;  yet  unfit  water  is  often  obtained  by 
sinking  wells,  or  other  device,  in  order  to  save 
present  outlay,  when  by  a  little  larger  expendi- 
ture a  permanent  supply  of  good  water  could  be 
obtained  from  a  running  stream,  or  in  some 
other  way. 


THE  MACHINERY  DEPARTMENT. 


249 


Much  is  to  be  said  in  reference  to  the  charac- 
ter of  the  service  in  which  engines  are  engaged. 
In  the  early  experience  of  railroads  in  the  United 
States  small  engines  were  able  to  haul  heavy 
trains,  because  the  speed  was  slow  and  stops  in- 
frequent. Now,  however,  the  speed  of  trains  has 
been  increased,  while  the  grovvth  of  the  country 
and  with  it  the  towns  along  the  line  of  railroads 
necessitate  more  frequent  stops.  This  is  true  of 
all  new  countries  and  of  many  old  ones.    Heavier 


[7^     l7\l      lAl      L^ 

"a     a    L^    ej      ' 

1 

DDOD    n   i 

jDDDDDD 

/.aco»ror/y£  ps/^. 


£://a  eirMT/o/i^ 


yS£cr/o/y 


locomotives  have  thus  become  necessary  with  the 
result  that  the  durability  of  the  machinery  is 
lessened,  as  it  wears  out  more  quickly  in  heavy 
service  where  a  large  amount  of  coal  is  neces- 
sarily consumed  than  where  the  contrary  is  the 
case. 

Judicious  location  of  the  repair  shops  for  loco- 
motives requires  consideration  of  many  varied 
interests.  Among  those  to  be  mentioned  are 
accessibility  to  locomotives  to  be  repaired;  prox- 
imity to  skilled  and  unskilled  labor;  facilities  for 


250  RAILWAY   EQUIPMENT. 

obtaining  material  and  supplies;  and,  finally,  the 
securing  of  adequate  grounds  for  buildings,  yards 
and  tracks.  In  this  connection  the  growth  of  the 
service,  i.  e.,  future  needs,  must  be  taken  into 
account. 

There  are  two  kinds  of  repair  shops:  those  ar- 
ranged for  heavy  work,  such  as  the  thorough 
overhauling  of  a  locomotive  requires,  and  those 
for  lighter  repairs.  As  the  arrangement  of  both 
is  generally  similar,  i.  e.,  differs  only  in  degree, 
only  those  designed  for  extensive  repairs  are  con- 
sidered here. 

The  location  of  these  repair  shops  must  be 
easily  accessible  from  the  main  track.  The 
shops  must  also  have  ample  yard  room  with 
switching  tracks  suitable  for  convenient  and 
economical  working,  including  the  handling  of 
material  and  supplies.  The  grounds  should  be 
well  sewered  and  drained,  and  provided  with 
fences,  gates,  etc.,  so  they  may  be  completely 
enclosed.  The  terminus  of  a  division  or  the 
common  terminus  of  several  divisions  of  a  road 
is  the  natural  place  for  general  repair  shops  such 
as  those  described. 

As  it  sometimes  becomes  necessary  to  transfer 
to  the  roundhouse  the  skilled  labor  of  the  repair 
shop,  it  is  desirable  that  the  roundhouse  should  be 
located  as  near  to  the  repair  shop  as  practicable. 

Repair  shops,  such  as  those  referred  to,  neces- 
sarily consist  of  a  number  of  buildings  in  which 
different  parts  of  the  work  are  done.  The  ar- 
rangement and  location  of  the  buildings  require 


THE  MACHINERY  DEPARTMENT, 


25i 


careful  study.  The  following  observations  there- 
on are  offered  as  tending  to  reduce  cost  of  repairs 
b}^  minimizing  labor  and  loss  of  time  in  handling 
material  and  in  making  repairs. 

The  largest  and  most  important  building  of  the 
group  is  the  machine  and  erecting  shop.  In  the 
case  of  very  large  plants  the  erecting  building  is 
separate  from  the  machine  shop.  In  other  cases 
the  two  are  placed  under  one  roof.  The  building, 
or  buildings,  must  be  located  so  as  to  be  conven- 
iently reached  from  other  shops. 

The  boiler  shop  should  be  located  in  the  imme- 
diate vicinity  of  the  erecting  shop,  so  that  the 
boilers  may  be  moved  conveniently  from  one 
building  to  the  other. 

The  tank  shop,  i.  e.,  the  shop  for  the  repair 
of  the  water  tanks  of  locomotives,  should  be 
a  part  of,  or  immediately  adjacent  to,  the  boiler 
shop,  so  that  work  of  a 
similar    nature    may    be 
concentrated  as  much  as 
possible. 

The  forge  and  black- 
smith shops  are  usually 
consolidated  under  one 
roof.  The  location  should 
be  convenient  to  the 
machine  and  erecting 


^ 


QD 

( "]  f  *i 

DD 

{   1 

u 

j/at  £ieyAr/M.  r/jr  j/ra  ca/'/'s/f  svop 


shop  and  the  boiler  and 
tank  shops. 

The  paint  shop  should  be  conveniently  located 
for  moving  locomotives  and  tenders  from  the 


252  RAILWAY  EQUIPMENT. 

erecting  shop.    It  should  be  provided  with  tracks 
leading  to  the  roundhouse  or  main  line.* 

It  is,  as  a  rule,  advantageous  to  locate  the  foun- 
dry some  distance  from  the  other  buildings  so  as 
to  have  room  for  supplies  stored  in  its  vicinity. 
The  heavier  castings  should  be  stored  conven- 
iently between  the  foundry  and  the  machine  shop, 
where  the  castings  are  to  be  used.  In  some  cases 
it  may  be  better  to  store  them  near  the  general 
storehouse.  This  latter  should  be  conveniently 
located  for  the  distribution  of  material  to  the 
shops  with  as  little  expenditure  of  time  and  labor 
as  possible.  Spacious  platforms  and  other  con- 
veniences should  be  provided  to  facilitate  the 
transfer  of  castings  from  one  part  of  the  house 
to  another. 

If  the  shops  are  very  extensive  they  should 
have  a  power  plant.  It  should  be  as  centrally 
located  as  possible.  How  far  this  will  be  practi- 
cable, like  other  problems, 
can  only  be  determined 
on  the  spot.  The  boil- 
ers should,  however,  be 
grouped  in  one  building, 
and  steam  for  heating  purposes  distributed  di- 
rectly to  the  entire  plant,  according  to  the  best 
modern  inventions. 

*  "  Mucli  less  time  and  care  are  spent  on  locomotive  painting 
than  formerly,  so  miicli  so  tliat  many  important  lines  do  not 
consider  a  locomotive  paint  shop  essential.  The  cabs  are  built 
and  painted  in  the  coach  shop,  and  the  tanks  and  engines  in 
the  machine  shops,  as  they  are  being  completed  about  in  the 
same  way  as  is  generally  followed  in  contract  shops." — Mr.  G. 
W,  Rhodes. 


p-l    Mmj] 


j/<«"  /i/wr/iw.  fMsciraci^  jmfitf/6Kr  c«f  /i£/v//>  s*M 


THE  MA  CHIXER  Y  DEPAR  TMEXT.  253 

A  suitable  engine,  able  to  furnish  the  amount 
of  power  needed,  should  form  a  part  of  every 
po\Yer  plant  for  the  purpose  of  driving  the  dyna- 
mos which  generate  the  electrical  force  used  to 
operate  the  machinery  of  each  shop.  The  cost 
of  attendance  may  thus  be  reduced.'-' 

The  design  for  shop  buildings  should,  in  a  gen- 
eral wa}^  follow  the  lines  accepted  as  best  for 
such  plants.  The  foundations  and  walls  should 
be  strong  and  of  well-laid  masonry,  with  pilasters 
and  strengthening  buttresses  wherever  necessary 
to  carry  the  load  attached  to  the  roof,  or  needed 
to  support  the  tracks  for  traveling  cranes.  The 
walls  should  be  sufficiently  high  to  afford  head- 
way under  the  cranes.  As  abundance  of  light  is 
needed  in  every  shop  the  windows  and  skylights 
should  be  ample. 

When  there  are  no  traveling  cranes,  the  roof 
trusses  should  be  strong  over  the  entire  floor 
space,  as  it  is  often  advantageous  to  attach  to 
the  roof  appliances  which  will  greatly  increase 
the  weight  on  the  trusses.  The  roof  of  the  build- 
ing should  be  substantial,  durable  and  as  nearly 
fire-proof  as  possible.    Slate  is  preferable. 

The  foregoing  applies  with  more  or  less  force 
to  every  building  connected  with  the  repair  of 
locomotives.     Each  building,  however,  possesses 

*  "Owing  to  improvements  in  the  working  parts  of  stationary- 
engines,  improvements  in  continuous  sight-feed  lubricators, 
etc.,  it  has  become  the  practice  in  shops  of  even  considerable 
importance  to  do  away  with  the  stationary  engineer  and  to 
make  the  supervision  of  the  stationary  engine  part  of  the  duties 
of  the  leading  fireman." — Mr.  G.  TV.  Rhodes. 


254  RAILWAY  EQUIPMENT. 

certain  features  peculiar  to  itself.    These  may 
now  be  taken  up. 

In  planning  the  erecting  and  machine  shop, 
either  of  two  plans  may  be  followed.  Each  has 
certain  advantages  or  disadvantages,  depending 
largely  upon  climatic  conditions.  Both  designs, 
however,  contemplate  a  building  v^arying  in  width 
from  one  hundred  to  one  hundred  and  twenty- 
five  feet,  arranged  with  a  machine  shop  on  one 
side  of  a  line  drawn  lengthwise  through  the 
center,  and  an  erecting  shop  on  the  other  side. 
The  length  of  the  building  may  vary  to  suit 
special  requirements,  but  one  end  should  be  so 
located  that  it  may  be  extended  when  necessary. 
In  one  design  tracks  run  at  right  angles  to  the 
length  of  the  shop.  They  are  spaced  from  twenty- 
two  to  twenty-five  feet  apart  from  center  to  cen- 
ter of  track.  Each  track  is  provided  with  a  pit 
deep  enough  to  enable  workmen  to  perform  the 
work  required  on  the  machinery  and  fittings  from 
beneath  the  engines.  Cranes  sufficient  to  lift  the 
heaviest  locomotives  traverse  the  entire  length 
of  the  shop  immediately  over  the  pits.  This 
design  requires  a  transfer  table  close  to  and 
extending  lengthwise  of  the  shop,  accessible  to 
tracks  connected  with  the  main  line,  for  moving 
engines  to  and  from  the  erecting  shop.  In  the 
other  design  the  erecting  tracks  run  lengthwise 
of  the  shop.  One  track  is  usually  placed  on  each 
side  of  the  allotted  floor  space,  with  another 
track  extending  lengthwise  through  the  center, 
upon    which  locomotives    enter  and    leave  the 


THE  MACHINERY  DEPARTMENT. 


255 


shop.  The  same  provision  is 
made  for  traveling  cranes  as  in 
the  first  instance,  so  that  loco- 
motives may  be  lifted  from  the 
center  track  to  the  erecting 
tracks,  and  vice  versa,  as  well  as 
on  and  off  their  wheels.  Pits  ex-  '-«"«^" 
tending  the  entire  length  of  the 
erecting  tracks  are  required  as  in  the  other  case. 
When  scrap  furnaces  are  used,  the  shop  boilers 
may  be  placed  immediately  above  the  same  in 
order  to  utilize  the  heat  for  the  purpose  of 
generating  the  steam  required  in  operating  the 
steam  hammers  and  for  other  purposes.  If 
coal  is  used  for  fuel,  the  furnace  may  be  fed 
through  a  chute  connecting  directly  with  the 
cars  on  which  the  supply  is  loaded.  If  oil  is 
used  in  the  furnace,  the  supply  should  be  in  close 
proximity  to  the  building,  so  that  the  distance 
the  oil  will  have  to  flow  may  be  reduced  as  much 
as  possible. 

A  boiler  shop  rarely  needs  to  be  more  than 
eighty  feet  wide.  The  height  of  the  walls  should 
be  the  same  as  for  the  erecting  shop.  The 
arrangement  of  tracks  in  the  boiler  shop  should 

also  be  the  same  as 
in  the  erecting  shop. 
Adequate  crane  facil- 
ities for  moving  and 
turning  boilers  are 
required.  The  boiler 
shop  should  be  equipped  with  a  hydraulic  rivet- 


■^      7~^      7"^:       7^      TT — r\ 7*T" 


25 G  RAILWAY   EQUIPMENT. 

ing  machine  with  accumulator*  and  tower-lift f 
for  handling  locomotive  boilers,  with  a  machine 
and  tower,  or  extension,  which  will  permit  a  lift 
under  the  crane  that  will  support  the  boiler  of 
the  riveting  machine  at  a  height  of  at  least 
thirty-five  feet  in  the  clear;  and  an  oil  furnace 
for  annealing.^ 

The  blacksmith  shop  maj^  if  thought  desirable, 
be  arranged  with  a  forge  shop  in  an  annex,  or 
"  L."  In  this  way  facilities  for  storing  material 
without  interfering  with  ready  access  to  the 
blacksmith  shop  may  be  secured.  The  walls  of 
the  building  should  be  substantiallj^  constructed, 
with  large  openings  for  ingress  and  egress.  The 
light  should  be  abundant.  Capacious  ventilators 
should  be  inserted  in  the  roof.  The  trusses 
should  be  strong  enough  to  support  such  posts, 
cranes,  overhead  runways  or  tracks  for  transfer- 
ring material  as  may  be  necessary. 


*  k.u  accumulator  is  a  long  cylinder  in  which  a  piston  is  set 
in  vertical  position,  the  cylinder  being  attached  to  a  large  iron 
drum  filled  with  scrap  iron,  sand  or  other  heavy  material  in 
order  to  obtain  the  pressure  necessary  to  operate  the  machinery. 
By  means  of  a  pump,  liquid  is  forced  into  the  cylinder,  which 
causes  the  piston  and  the  drum  containing  the  load  to  rise, 
thereby  obtaining  the  required  pressure. 

f  A  tower-lift  is  a  long  cylinder  with  iDiston  coupled  to  a 
crane  at  the  top  of  a  tower,  directly  over  the  machine,  and  is 
used  for  holding  boilers  in  suspension  while  being  riveted  and 
in  handling  other  work  to  be  performed  at  the  machine. 

X  The  annealing  furnace  is  a  large  furnace  with  a  door 
extending  across  the  entire  front,  in  which  boiler  plates  are 
heated  to  a  red  heat  and  allowed  to  cool  before  being  placed 
into  the  b'^ii^r  in  order  to  make  the  metal  more  pliable. 


THE  MACHINERY  DEPARTMENT.  257 

Among  the  prime  requisites  for  a  paint  shop 
are  light,  heat  and  ventilation.  ''The  last  two 
are  best  accomplished  by  what  is  known  as  the 
overhead  hot-air  sj^stem.  The  large  fan  which 
forces  the  hot  air  through  the  pipes  in  winter  is 
available  for  inducing  a  circulation  of  air  in  the 
shops  in  summer.  The  best  results  in  drying  in 
a  paint  shop  are  obtained  when  the  air  circulates 
freely."*  Besides  the  windows  in  the  walls  of 
the  building,  the  skylights  should  be  fitted  into 
the  roof  as  may  be  consistent  with  good  con- 
struction. The  ventilators  should  be  provided 
with  adjustable  appliances  for  preventing  waste 
of  heat.  The  floor  should  be  smooth  and  made 
of  cement  or  similar  substance  so  that  it  may  be 
easily  washed  and  quickly  drained. 

The  foundry  building  should  be  substantially 
built  and  arranged  for  traveling  cranes  when 
necessary.  The  core  rooms  and  core  ovens 
should  be  convenient  to  each  other  and  the  lat- 
ter  provided  with   adequate   heating  facilities.! 

Where  there  is  a  brass  foundry,  it  should  be 
adjacent  to  the  main  building  and  should  be  pro- 
vided with  a  good  chimney  with  which  the  brass 
melting  furnaces  should  be  connected.  The 
cupolas  should   be  located  outside  of   the  side 

*  IVIr.  G.  W.  Ehodes. 

f  The  core  room  is  a  room  in  which,  cores  are  made,  iisuaUy 
of  sand,  for  the  castings  made  in  the  foundry.  In  order  that 
the  cores  may  not  break  easily  or  run  ofif  easily  when  molten 
metal  is  poured  around  them,  they  are  baked  hard  in  an  iron 
oven,  heated  by  a  mild  fire.  The  oven  is  provided  with  iron 
shelves  upon  which  the  small  cores  are  placed  to  be  baked. 

17    Vol.  1 


258 


RAIL  WA  Y   EQ UIPMENT. 


wall  near  the  center  of  the  length  of  the  build- 
ing. Provision  should  also  be  made  for  an  ample 
charging  floor  and  elevator.*  ''  In  constructing 
a  brass  foundry  it  should  be  designed  so  that  the 
raw  product  will  come  in  at  one  end  and  the 
finished  brass,  ready  to  be  loaded  into  a  car  and 
shipped  away,  come  out  at  the  other.  This  can 
be  accomplished  by  having  the  heating  furnaces, 
molders'  floor,  rattler,  grinder,  boring  machines 
and  lead-lining  machines  follow  each  other  in 
close  succession  so  that  the  completion  of  each 
operation  places  the  brasses  without  additional 
handling  into  a  position  available  for  the  next 
operation,  "f 

A  good  form  of  storehouse  is  a  building  two 
stories  in  height.  To  facilitate  loading  and  un- 
loading material  and  supplies  the  lower  floor 
should  be  elevated  to  a  level  wdth  the  floor  of  a 

freight  car.     The  building 
should  be  surrounded  by  a 


platform  of  suitable  w4dth 
on  a  level  with  the  floor, 
the  platform  inclining  to 

Enough 


/■/«  ^^iCK/rr/o/r,  /fCf^/fi  J//Sff  /^O^  r/iSiSMr  at/ii . 


the  ground  at  the  ends  of  the  structure. 


*  The  cupola  referred  to  is  practicaUy  a  cylindrical  furnace 
made  of  sheet-iron  and  lined  with  fire  brick,  which  usually  ex- 
tends up  through  the  roof  of  the  building  so  as  to  allow  the  free 
escape  of  gases  and  flame.  The  charging  or  filling  door  is  near 
the  top,  through  which  all  the  iron  and  fuel  are  fed.  The 
charging  floor  is  a  floor  built  conveniently  to  the  charging 
door,  on  which  the  fuel,  iron  and  such  other  material  as  is  used 
in  the  process  of  melting  and  making  iron  or  steel  are  placed. 

t  Mr.  G.  W.  Ehodes. 


THE  MA  C MINER  Y  DEPAR  TMENT.  25  9 

doors  should  be  provided  for  convenient  use.  The 
second  story  floor  should  be  v\^ell  supported  in  order 
to  bear  its  burden  of  stores.  The  building  should 
be  fitted  with  one  or  more  elevators.  Good  light 
is  necessar}^  and  the  building  should  be  provided 
with  bins,  racks,  and  other  necessary  appliances 
so  arranged  as  to  interfere  with  the  light  as  little 
as  possible.  The  first  floor  and  the  supports  for 
the  second  floor  should  rest  on  a  good  foundation 
of  masonry. 

The  power  house,  containing  the  boilers  and 
other  accessories,  including  engines  and  dyna- 
mos, should  be  designed  with  reference  to  the 
economical  handling  of  fuel  and  ashes.*  The 
building  should  be  ample,  but  provision  should 
be  made  for  extending  it  when  necessary.  It 
should  be  located  with  reference  to  the  easy  and 
economical  distribution  of  steam  for  heating  and 
(if  required)  power  purposes.  The  room  in  which 
the  boilers  are  located  should  be  well  ventilated, 
and  the  engine  and  dynamo  rooms  provided  with 
a  high  roof  and  good  light. 

The  equipment  of  a  shop  requires  careful  study 
in  order  that  it  may  meet  practical  and  scientific 
needs.  The  tools  should  be  of  improved  design 
and  construction,  though  first  cost  may  be  con- 
siderably enhanced  thereby.  The  arrangement 
must  be  such  that  work  passing  through  the  shop 

*  "  Fuel,  •when  unloaded,  should  pass  into  a  hopper-formed 
receptacle,  constructed  so  it  Avill  supply  itself  sufficiently  and 
may  be  passed  with  one  additional  handling  into  an  automatic 
'feed,' or,  where  automatic  feeds  are  not  used,  shoveled  into 
the  fire  "box  without  additional  handling." — Mr.  G.  IV.  Rhodes. 


2G0 


RAILWAY  EQUIPMENT. 


will  require  to  be  moved  as  little  as  possible  and 
the  least  possible  distance.  If  the  tools  are  nob 
arranged  with  this  view,  much  unnecessary  ex- 
pense will  be  incurred  thereby  for  labor  and  on 
other  accounts. 

Traveling  and  swinging  cranes  should  be  pro- 
vided in  all  shops  where  needed.  The  efficiency 
of  traveling  cranes  may  be  greatly  enhanced  by 
equipping  them  with  electric  motors.  Overhead 
runways*  should    also  be  introduced  in   shops 

when  they  can  be 


00  OQIOD  0 


inn 


s/fi^  siCMnoff  Pi/i/rws  Dt/u.  iT^/f  ae^r 


DaaaoDOdaGdaDl  pcngGDDCGaQDaaanaf^         Utllizcd.         PnCU" 

matic  hoists  (lift- 
ing machines  oper- 
ated by  compressed 
air)  suspended  from  trolleys  (trucks),  the  latter 
being  mounted  on  overhead  runways,  are  also 
useful  in  shops.  Careful  estimates  require  to  be 
made,  however,  of  the  expense  attending  the  use 
of  power  cranes,  including  cost,  before  introduc- 
ing them,  lest  their  practical  working  value  does 
not  justify  the  outlay. f 

*  Tracks  for  lifting  and  moving  macliinery  and  other  articles 
by  pulleys. 

f"  A  Tiseful  form  to  measure  the  value  of  such  improvements 
may  be  mapped  out  as  follows: 

HANDLING  CINDERS  AT  ROUNDHOUSE. 


Value. 

Wages   Saving 

Per         Per 
Month.  Month. 

Saving 

Capitalized  at 

6  per  cent. 

Number 

of  Men 

Employed. 

Saving 

Per 
Month. 

Ash  Pit 

(Old  MethodJ... 
Ash  Hoist 

(New  Method)... 

$674.78 

$475.20    

10 
6 

288.00    $187.20 

$37,440.00 

40.00^" 

—Mr,  6 

?.  IV.  Rhoi 

ies. 

THE  MACHINERY  DEPARTMENT. 


261 


The  heating  appliances  of  shops  should  be  so 
designed  and  arranged  as  to  accomplish  in  the 
most  satisfactory  and  economical  manner  pos- 
sible the  object  intended,  namely,  the  free  and 
full  circulation  of  the  heated  air  throughout  the 
space  where  it  is  needed.  In  the  case  of  steam 
heat  especial  care  is  required  in  order  to  derive 
the  full  benefit  from  the  steam  —  in  other 
words,  the  utility  of  the  steam  in  the  pipes 
should  be  exhausted  before  introducing  a  new 
supply. 

A  drop  table — a  machine  for  removing  driving 
and  truck  wheels  from  locomotives  going  into 
the  shop  and  replacing  them  on  engines  going 
out — should  be  located  somewhere  on  the  track 
by  which  the  engine  enters  and  leaves  the  erect- 
ing room.  It  should  also  be  easy  of  access  to  the 
machine  shop.  At  the  drop  table,  a  lye  tauk  for 
cleaning  the  material  stripped  from  the  locomo- 
motives,  should  be  provided,  in  order  that  the 
material  may  be  cleaned 
before  being  taken  to  the 
machine  shop.  If  the 
tracks  run  lengthwise  of 
the  erecting  shop,  the  drop 
table  is  not  necessary,  as 
the  engine  may  be  lifted 
directly  from  its  wheels 
by  the  traveling  cranes. 

The    machinerj^     for 
cleaning  the  boiler  tubes  of  the  locomotive  should 
be  located  at  some  place  easily  accessible  by  push 


sccr/c/r  t^c/fa  si£y^r/o/r.  PLAmffa  /n/ii. . 


262  RAILWAY  EQUIPMENT. 

(small  platform)  cars  from  the  erecting  shop 
tracks.  The  arrangement  of  the  cutting  off, 
scarfing,  welding  and  tube  testing  machiner}^ 
should  be  such  as  to  reduce  the  labor  of  handling 
to  a  minimum.* 

Economical  operation  requires  that  power 
facilities  shall  be  provided  at  every  point  in  a 
shop  where  it  is  required  to  drive  tools,  such 
as  drills,  taps,  reamers,  calking  and  chipping 
implements,  cylinder  boring  bars,  facing  and 
sand-papering  machines,  and  so  on.  This  Avork 
may  be  performed  by  compressed  air  or  elec- 
tricity more  satisfactorily  than  in  any  other 
way. 

Portable  riveting  machinery  should  be  pro- 
vided in  the  boiler  shop  and,  if  new  boiler  work 
is  done  to  any  extent,  an  hydraulic  riveting  plant 
is  highly  desirable. 

An  economical  air  compressor  of  sufficient 
capacity  is  necessary  to  the  equipment  of  the 
locomotive  repair  shop.  If  a  large  amount  of 
compressed  air  is  required,  a  storage  reservoir 
therefor  should  be  located  near  the  shop,  con- 
nected with  the  compressor  by  piping  of  adequate 
size.  Leaks  in  the  piping  and  reservoirs  occa- 
sion waste  of  energy  and  are  consequently  to  be 
avoided. 

The  blacksmith  shop  should  be  equipped  with 


*  "  This  is  accomplished  by  concentrating  operations  so  that 
the  finishing  of  one  operation  places  the  material  in  a  posi- 
tion for  commencing  the  next  operation  without  intermediate 
handling." — Mr.  G.  W.  Rhodes. 


THE  MA  CHINER  Y  DEPAR  TMENT.  263 

a  bulldozer,*  forging  press  f  and  drop  hammer, 
if  needs  demand,  or  with  any  one  of  the  three 
that  may  be  profitably  used.  Attention  given  to 
establishing  standard  details  of  devices  for  replac- 
ing hand  work  in  forging  by  machinery  fitted 
with  proper  dies,  will  also  prove  profitable. 

Heating  furnaces  (both  large  and  small)  should 
be  designed  and  adjusted  so  as  to  give  the  best 
possible  results  in 


:::j!,oriiohi 


J/fft  £U¥ArfC^.  aiAC4JM/rff  J/fO^   c^Ji  fffpr  _ 


the  way  of  abun- 
dant, rapid  and 
uniform  heating. 
Thus,  much  valu- 
able time  may  be  lost  if  the  furnace  in  the 
blacksmith  shop  is  not  adequate  to  keep  the 
hammersmiths  going.  Especial  attention  should 
be  given  to  the  construction  and  arrangement  of 
furnaces.  The  use  of  oil  for  fuel  may  be  more 
economical  than  coal,  not  as  regards  relative 
quantity  consumed,  but  in  increased  work  accom- 
plished. 

The  equipment  of  the  power  plant  should  be 
selected  and  arranged  after  a  careful  study  of 
surrounding  conditions.  It  should  be  of  the 
highest  type.    When  impure  water  must  be  used. 


*  A  bulldozer  consists  of  a  heavy  bed  with  a  strong  cross 
head  to  which  suitable  dies  and  formers  are  secured,  by  which 
bar  iron  is  pressed  into  different  shapes. 

f  A  forging  press  is  a  machine  for  forging  iron,  when  heated 
to  a  white  heat,  into  any  shape  which  dies  can  be  made  to 
squeeze  it  into.  The  work  is  usually  done  by  one  operation  of 
the  machine. 


264 


RAILWAY   EQUIPMENT. 


provision  should  be  made  for  turning  the  water^ 
after  condensation,  into  sumps  (reservoirs). 

The  transfer  tables  necessary  in  repair  shops 
may,  like  traveling  cranes,  be  profitably  operated 
by  electric  motors.  They  should  be  strongly 
built  so  as  to  reduce  cost  of  maintenance. 


The  labor  in  the  repair  shops  of  railroads,  like 
that  in  roundhouses,  comprises  skilled  workmen 
as  well  as  a  body  of  unskilled  laborers.  It,  how- 
ever, includes  a  greater  variety  of  tradesmen 
and,  unlike  roundhouse  work,  affords  opportunity 
for  employing  apprentices  in  various  lines  of 
mechanical  work.  A  practicable  plan  of  organi- 
zation of  labor  in  this  important  division  of 
mechanical  work  may  be  described  as  follows: 

The  workmen  in  each  shop  should  report  to  a 
common  foreman  from  whom  they  receive  in- 
structions. If  the  works  are  not  too  extended, 
one  foreman  for  each  shop  will  be  sufficient.  The 
foremen  of  the  various  shops  should  report  to  a 
general  foreman,  who  thus  becomes  responsible 
for  the  practical  operation  of  the  entire  works. 

He  is  immediately  subor- 
dinate to  the  master  me- 
chanic. Where  the  works 
are  very  extended,  the 
foreman  of  each  shop  has 
assistant  foremen,  who  have  charge  of  particular 
parts  of  the  work  in  hand.  For  example,  it  may 
be  desirable  to  have  two  foremen  in  the  machine 


^A'^   ^iCK^r/o/r.  ai^c/fs/K/rv  s/fo/'.  C/f/t  /'/>v 


THE  MACHINERY  DEPARTMENT.  265 

and  erecting  shop  —  one  in  charge  of  machine 
work,  the  other  in  charge  of  erecting  work.  In 
subordination  to  these  will  be  gang  foremen  on 
the  erecting  floor,  each  having  charge  of  a  body 
of  workmen  and  personally  looking  after  a  cer- 
tain number  of  erecting  tracks.  The  work  in  the 
machine  shop  may  also,  in  many  cases,  be  divided 
between  two  or  more  foremen,  each  being  respon- 
sible for  the  output,  tools  and  men,  of  a  certain 
portion  of  the  shop.  There  should  be  a  foreman 
in  charge  of  hand  tools,  standard  gauges,  and  so 
on.  He  may  be  responsible  to  the  foreman  of  the 
machine  shop,  and  is  held  accountable  for  the 
safe  keeping  and  maintenance  of  the  tools  under 
his  charge.  He  requires  such  workmen  as  may 
be  necessary^  also  the  machine  tools,  such  as 
lathes,  milling  machines,  grinders,  and  so  on, 
needed  for  keeping  the  tools  in  repair. 

In  giving  out  implements,  a  simple  but  effec- 
tive plan  is  to  require  a  numbered  ticket  to  be 
deposited  by  the  workman  who  receives  the  tool. 
When  he  returns  the  implement,  the  ticket  he 
has  deposited  is  given  up  to  him.  This  avoids 
book-keeping  and  yet  is  an  effective  safeguard. 

Arrangements  are  also 
necessary  for  keeping  the 
time  of  men.  The  system 
must  be  effective,  first, 
that  every  man  may  re- 
ceive   what   is    due    him 

and,  second,  that  he  shall  not  be  credited  with 
time  he  has  not  worked.     The  "  check  "  system 


c/tosi  •sser/o/r  SLAc/is-t/rM  s/fof 


266  RAILWAY  EQUIPMENT. 

may  be  used  in  this  connection  to  advantage. 
Under  this  plan  each  man  is  given  a  number. 
He  passes  through  the  check  room  when  com- 
mencing work  in  the  morning  and  afternoon,  at 
which  times  he  is  given  a  metal  check  corre- 
S]3onding  to  his  number.  The  checks  used  in  the 
forenoon  are  marked  "  A.M.",  those  in  the  after- 
noon "P.M."  No  checks  are  given  out  after  the 
hour  for  commencing  work  has  passed.  If  a  man 
is  late,  he  receives  what  may  be  termed  a  "late" 
slip  from  his  foreman  in  lieu  of  a  check.  It 
shows  the  time  he  commenced  work.  Each 
workman  is  visited  twice  a  day  by  the  time- 
keeper, who  collects  the  checks  and  slips,  and  at 
the  same  time  he  also  obtains  the  data  he  will 
require  to  enable  him  to  distribute  the  labor, 
i.  e.,  charge  it  to  the  account  upon  which  the 
work  is  performed.  Another  method  of  keeping 
time  may  be  called  the  "  clock"  system.  Each 
employe  has  a  number,  as  in  the  check  system. 
He  is  given  a  ke}^  corresponding  with  his  num- 
ber, and  when  commencing  work  he  registers  his 
number  and  the  time  of  day  by  inserting  the  key 
in  a  clock  provided  for  that  purpose;  upon  quit- 
ting work  he  passes  through  the  check  room  and 
registers  in  the  same  manner:  the  clock  thus 
tells  exactly  the  time  he  began  and  the  time  he 
quit  work.  These  references  in  regard  to  keep- 
ing the  time  of  men,  it  will  be  understood,  are 
general  and  wholly  superficial.  The  subject  is 
one  of  importance  because  of  the  vast  number  of 
men  employed,  and  the  necessity  that  methods 


THE  MACHINERY  DEPARTMENT. 


2Q\ 


should  be  adequate  thereto.  These  methods,  it 
is  unnecessary  to  say  while  they  may  be  gen- 
eral, yet  require  modifications  to  meet  particular 
circumstances  and,  in  any  case,  the  utmost  elab- 
oration.   The  subject  does  not  properly  come  up 


fi  I    i^iiiiiiiiJiiiiiiiiiiii  ^m 


■■*■  *-■■*-  *-*-*-*- 


A. 


m    ffi    m    CD    m 


DDDDDD 


S/0£  etctwr/on     fit^S£/roc/l  CAn  PMH/r      jftoP 


here.  It  is  discussed  in  the  volume  ''Disburse- 
ments of  Railways,"  in  which  the  whole  question, 
including  such  matters  as  keeping  the  time  of 
men,  reporting  same,  pay-rolls,  distribution  of 
Avork,  and  the  accounts,  statements  and  statistics 
connected  therewith,  is  explained. 


The  plan  outlined  for  organizing  the  labor  of 
the  locomotiv^e  repair  shops  contemplates  care- 
ful and  constant  supervision.  If,  however,  the 
work  is  done  by  the-  piece  instead  of  by  the 
hour,  inspection  of  it  when  completed  becomes 
necessary  in  order  to  insure  satisfactory  work 
and  determine  the  amount  due  the  laborer.  If 
tlieir  duties  permit,  the  foremen  usually  do  the 
inspecting;  in  other  cases  inspectors  are  em- 
ployed in  the  different  shops.  They  are  respon- 
sible to  the  foreman  for  the  character  of  the 
work. 


268  RAILWAY   EQUIPMENT. 

Care  of  Cars. — Cars,  unlike  locomotives,  are 
too  often  not  kept  under  cover,  but  placed  on 
open  tracks  spaced  and  conveniently  located  for 
storing  and  light  repairing.  They  are  called  re- 
pair tracks.  These  tracks  are  located  at  the  ter- 
minals of  the  road  and  near  the  car  repair  shops, 
as  convenience  and  economy  dictate.  If  for 
freight  cars,  they  should  be  in  the  immediate 
vicinity  of  the  principal  switching  yard,  because 
there  usually  the  cars  which  are  in  bad  order 
are  to  be  found.  If  the  repair  track  is  for 
passenger  cars,  it  should  be  near  the  storage 
yard  for  such  cars  and  arranged  conveniently 
for  switching  cars  to  and  from  the  latter.  Ke- 
pair  tracks  thus  located  will  minimize  the  cost 
of  transferring  cars  to  and  from  trains  and 
avoid,  as  well,  unnecessary  delay  in  other  direc- 
tions. 

Repair  tracks  are  so  spaced  as  to  permit  ample 
room  for  workmen  and  afford  adequate  facilities 
for  handling  the  implements  and  material  needed 
in  making  the  repairs. 

As  the  fluctuations  of  traffic  will,  in  a  majority 
of  cases,  necessitate  frequent  rearrangement  of 
the  repair  tracks,  they  should  be  located  with 
this  thought  in  view.  This  is  true  also  of  the 
buildings  necessary  in  connection  with  these 
tracks.  The  buildings  are  rather  storehouses 
than  shops.  They  are  required  for  storing  tools 
and  such  supplies  as  would  be  damaged  by  ex- 
posure to  the  weather  or  would  be  likely  to  be 
stolen  if  left  unprotected.     The  buildings  should 


THE  ^TACHINERY  DEPARTMENT. 


269 


/»»  cisy/ir/OA'    fiyissi.icc/t  CJiff  py>i/rr  sMor 


also  afford  facili- 
ties for  storing 
wheels  and  axles 
and  a  supply  of 
oils.     They  should 

be  provided  with  convenient  benches  for  work- 
ing in  metals  and  wood.  Compressed  air  and 
convenient  connections  for  testing  air  l)rakes  are 
also  required  in  connection  with  these  tracks. 

In  caring  for  passenger  cars,  ample  facilities 
for  cleaning  the  cars  inside  and  out  are  needed. 
This  necessitates  hot  and  cold  water.  Com- 
pressed air  affords  a  convenient  and  economical 
method  of  cleaning  upholstery,  carpets  and  in- 
volved wood  work.  This  and  the  uses  to  which 
compressed  air  is  put  in  connection  with  the  air 
brakes  require  that  repair  tracks  should  be  sup- 
plied with  it.  If  possible,  the  repair  yards  should 
be  located  near  the  roundhouse  or  machine  shops 
so  that  steam,  compressed  air  and  oil  supplies 
may  be  obtained  therefrom.  Air  jacks  are 
another  convenience  which  may  be  advanta- 
geously used.     When  steam  is  used  for  heating 

cars,  a  supply  is  re- 
quired in  the  yard 
so  that  the  cars  may 
be    warmed    before 


c/iosi  secr/oK.  fi/!ise/i'S£R  ca  M*/.rr  j//a^ 


~^     being  put  into  the 
train.      If    conven- 
iently located,  this  supply  may  be  most  economi- 
cally obtained  from  the  roundhouse  or  machine 
shop. 


270 


RAIL  WA  Y    EQ UIPMENT. 


The  articles  required  in  making  petty  repairs 
to  cars  are  obtained  from  the  nearest  storehouse, 
and  in  order  that  work  may  be  done  effectively 
and  the  cost  of  labor  reduced  to  the  minimum, 
standard  details  of  car  construction  are  required 
to  be  established  and  maintained. 

Stations  are  established  at  junctions  with  other 
roads  and  at  convenient  intervals  along  a  line  for 
the  purpose  of  making  such  light  repairs  as  the 
needs  of  the  service  demand.  Inspectors  at  these 
points  examine  every  car  in  transit  with  a  view 
to  discovering  and  correcting  defects,  those  re- 
quiring repairs  not  provided  for  at  the  inspecting 
station  being  sent  to  the  general  shops  or  repair 
tracks. 


The  organization  that  looks  after  the  care  of 
cars  may  be  separated  from  that  provided  for  re- 
pairs and  renewals.  The  service  is  divided  into 
skilled  and  unskilled  labor,  like  that  for  locomo- 


^1 


QD 
DO 


DD 

n 


QD 
OD 


DD 

n 


DD 
DD 


DD 
DD 


II   n 


DO 

n 


DO 
QO 


DD 

n 


DO 
DD 


a. 


siO£  £uv/>r/onf  .  ^ro/rf  moi/S£ .  c/ift  OfPr 


tives.  It  is  employed  in  and  about  the  repair 
yards  and  is  made  up  of  car  repairers,  inspectors 
and  laborers,  including  cleaners.  These  report 
to  and  receive  instructions  from  the  foreman. 
The  latter  is  directly  subordinate  to  the  superin- 


THE  MA  CHIXER  Y  DEPAR  TMENT.  271 

tendent  of  cars  or  the  master  mechanic;  in  some 
cases  to  a  general  foreman  who  reports  to  tht, 
general  officer  in  charge. 

The  supervisory  force  for  the  care  of  cars  is 
generally  similar  to  that  for  locomotives;  in  one 
case  it  is  over  car  repairers,  in  the  other  over 
roundhouse  employes. 

Repairs  of  Cars. — The  principles  governing 
the  repairs  of  locomotives  as  distinguished  from 
their  care  also  apply,  generally,  to  cars.  In  the 
case  of  the  latter,  however,  where  climatic  condi- 
tions permit,  repair  sheds  with  only  a  roof  cover- 
ing are  often  made  to  answ^er  the  purpose  of  more 
enclosed  buildings. 

It  is  desirable,  when  practicable,  that  the 
repair  shops  for  cars  and  locomotives  should  be 
contiguous.  The  advantages  of  combining  the 
two  plants  are  too  valuable  to  be  overlooked 
and  far  outweigh  any  disadvantages  that  such 
union  engenders.  In  wdiat  follows  it  is  assumed 
the  buildings  comprising  the  two  kinds  of  work 
are  located  in  convenient,  neighborly  relation. 

The  car  repair  shops  may  be  said,  briefl}^  to 
comprise  a  planing  mill,  erecting  shop  for  passen- 
ger cars,  erecting  shop  for  freight  cars,  passenger 
car  paint  shop,  freight  car  paint  shop,  blacksmith 
and  forge  shop."^'     The  storehouse  is  general. 

*  If  the  road  is  a  small  one,  these  buildings  will  be  consoli- 
dated to  conform  to  actual  needs.  Indeed,  this  adaptability  of 
the  plant  to  what  is  required  by  local  conditions  will  occur  in 
every  branch  of  the  service.  My  description  in  this  chaj)ter 
may  be  said  to  apply  to  roads  of  maximum   size  in  1890. 


272 


RAILWAY   EQUIPMENT. 


The  planing  mill  must  be  easily  accessible  to 
the  lumber  yard  and  dry  kiln.  At  the  other  ex- 
tremity of  the  building  the  finished  material  is 
distributed  to  the  erecting  shops.  It  should  also 
be  convenient  to  the  power  house,  as  the  planing 

mill  makes  large  demands 
in  this  respect. 

It  is  thought  the  passen- 

MDiDODUDDDIIDDHI  n  S^"".  <=^i'  erecting  shop,  the 
Iw  ^1  "-*^  freight  car  erecting  shop, 

and  the  paint  shops  may  be 

advantageously  located  parallel  to  each  other, 

yet  separated  sufficiently  for  a  transfer  table  to 

be  placed  between  them.     The  dimensions  of  the 

transfer  tables  must  be  sufficient  to  hold  cars 

of  the  maximum  length. 

The  machine  shop,  blacksmith  shop  and  forge 
shop  may  be  consolidated  under  one  roof,  but 
should  be  separated  by  permanent  partitions  of 
masonry  running  parallel  w^ith  the  end  walls. 
This  building  should  be  located  so  that  it  may  be 
easily  reached  with  cars  loaded  with  material. 
Provision  for  storing  car  wheels,  mounted  on 
axles,  and  unmounted,  should  be  made  near  the 
machine  shop. 

In  that  part  of  the  machine  shop  contiguous  to 
the  blacksmith  shop,  bins  and  racks  should  be 
provided  for  storing  damaged  articles,  such  as 
bolts  and  rods,  so  that  they  may  be  repaired  and 
made  serviceable  in  the  blacksmith  shop  with 
the  least  expense  for  handling. 


c/ioss  seer/a*  srone  Moi/se.  c^/t  o/pr. 


THE  :SIA  CHIXER  Y  DEPAR  TMEXT.  273 

Fuel  supplies  should  be  of  suitable  nature  and 
conveniently  located  for  use. 

It  is  thought  that  the  storehouse  serving  in 
common  the  locomotive  and  car  departments 
should  be  located  with  reference  to  the  conven- 
^^^,^,,^^^^  lent   handling   of    material 

,<.^i^I?N^^^^     for  the  latter  rather  than 

the  former.  This  is  true 
also  of  the  location  of  the 
^  l^ower  plant.  Owing  to  the 
large  amount  of  power  re- 
quired in  the  planing  mill,  the  necessities  of  this 
building  require  that  the  power  should  be  loca- 
ted as  near  to  it  as  possible. 

The  buildings  of  the  car  department  should  be 
well  lighted  and  ventilated.  This  is  easier  of 
accomplishment  than  in  the  case  of  locomotives, 
as  the  machinery  is  lighter  and  the  dirt  and  soot 
less. 

The  walls  of  the  car  repair  shops  need  not  be  of 
heavy  construction,  as  it  is  not  necessary  to  pro- 
vide for  traveling  cranes.  They  should,  however, 
be  substantial  and  covered  with  a  well-braced, 
durable  roof. 

The  floors  of  the  machine  shop,  erecting  shop 
and  planing  mill  should  be  substantial  and 
adapted  to  resist  the  wear  and  tear  inseparable 
from  the  handling  of  heavy  material.  The  floor 
of  the  paint  shop  should  be  of  cement,  or  like  sub- 
stance, finished  with  a  smooth  surface  and  pro- 
vided with  good  drainage  and  sewerage  facilities. 

18    Vol.  1 


274 


RAILWAY   EQUIPMENT. 


BB 
DD 


BB 


BB 

BB 


BG 


BB 

BB 


Office  and  Laboratory. 


The  planing  mill  may  be  built  two  stories  in 
height,  the  upper  floor  being  fitted  with  machin- 
ery for  use  by  cabinet  and  patternmakers.  Both 
floors  should  be  well  lighted  and  ventilated. 
The  removal  of  the  sawdust  and  shavings  by 
what  is  known  as  the  exhaust  process  of  convey- 
ance makes  ventilation  and  cleanliness  easier  of 

accomplishment.  The  sec- 
ond story  floor  should  be 
well  braced  and  sufficient- 
ly strong  to  carry  the 
shafting  for  the  machin- 
ery on  the  lower  floor 
without  serious  vibration. 

The  erecting  and  paint  shops  should  be  pro- 
vided with  movable  platforms  and  racks  for  use 
as  scaffolding  in  working  on  the  upper  parts  of 
the  cars. 

A  paint  and  oil  stock  room  for  daily  current 
supplies  should  be  located  conveniently  to  the 
paint  shops.  It  should  be  fireproof  and  kept 
scrupulously  clean. 

An  upholstery  room  is  necessary  in  or  near  the 
passenger  car  shop.  It  must  contain  facilities 
for  upholstering,  dyeing,  repairing  curtains, 
hangings,  linen,  bedding,  and  so  on.  Com- 
pressed air  will  be  found  useful  and  economical 
in  renovating  curtains,  cushions  and  carpets.  It 
may  also  be  found  desirable  to  do  electroplating 
work  in  this  branch  of  the  department. 

The  equipment  of  the  planing  mill  and  car 
shops  requires  to   be   handled  with  a  view  to 


THE  MACHINERY  DEPARTMENT. 


275 


OflBce  and  Laboratory. 


securing  the  greatest  results  with  the  least  outlay. 
This  refers  both  to  tlie  nature  of  the  tools  used 
and  their  arrangement  and  care.  The  subject  is 
one  of  supreme  importance  and,  because  of  the 
improvements  occurring  each  day,  requires  con- 
stant attention. 

Pneumatic  hoists  suspended  on  trolleys  oper- 
ated on  overhead  runways  should  be  provided 
when  circumstances  warrant  it. 
These  hoists  may  also  be  used  to 
advantage  in  handling  trucks, 
wheels,  axles,  and  so  on. 

Portable  air- jacks  with  suffi- 
cient capacity  to  raise  one-half 
the  weight  of  a  car — or  more  if  need  be — will 
also  be  found  to  be  convenient  and  labor-saving 
devices. 

The  repair  tracks  should  be  provided  with 
ample  yard  room,  arranged  for  making  repairs 
on  such  cars  as  may  be  handled  to  advantage 
out  of  doors.  A  good  arrangement  of  tracks  is 
thought  to  be  in  pairs,  with  wider  spacing  be- 
tween each  group  of  two  so  as  to  facilitate  the 
handling  of  material,  supplies  and  tools  by  work- 
men. The  ground  between  the  repair  tracks 
should  be  suitably  paved.  A  narrow  gauge  track 
should  be  laid  between  each  pair  of  repair  tracks 
for  handling  heavy  material,  wheels,  truck  tim- 
bers and  drawbars  on  push  cars.  "With  suitable 
turntables  this  narrow  gauge  track  may  be  con- 
nected through  the  car  machine  shop,  blacksmith 
shop  and   storehouse,   so  as  to  allow  the  raw 


276 


RAIL  WA  Y   EQ UIPMENT. 


product  from  the 
store  to  be  transfer- 
red direct  to  the 
blacksmith  fire  or  to 
the  m  a  c  h  i  n  e  shop 
without  additional 
handling.  By  using 
an  empty  vehicle  in 
connection  with  the 
loaded  vehicle  the 
raw  material  may  be 
passed  from  the 
loaded  vehicle  to  the 
machine  and  from 
the  machine  to  the 
empty  vehicle,  thus 
avoiding  the  extra 
handling  which  takes 
place  when  the 
material  is  thrown 
on  the  floor  from  the 
machine."* 


The  labor  organi- 
zation of  the  car  re- 
pair shops  is  the  same 
as  that  noted  for  re- 
pairs of  locomotives. 
All  workmen  report 
to  gang  foremen ; 
these  latter  usually  to 

*  Mr.  G.  W.  Rhodes. 


THE  MA  CHINER  Y  DEPAR  TMENT.  277 

departmental  foremen.  These  in  turn  report  to 
a  general  foreman  who  is  responsible  to  the  sup- 
erintendent of  cars  or  the  master  mechanic,  as 
the  case  may  be. 

In  general,  local  master  mechanics  have  charge 
of  the  repair  of  locomotives  and  cars  on  the 
various  divisions  of  a  road:  all  these  divisional 
officers  report  to  the  heads  of  the  car  and  mechani- 
cal departments  as  their  work  suggests,  to  the 
superintendent  of  motive  power  (general  master 
mechanic)  on  matters  relating  to  locomotives, 
and  to  the  superintendent  of  cars  on  matters 
relating  to  his  department.  The  machinery  de- 
partment should  also  include  a  mechanical  engi- 
neer in  charge  of  designs  for  locomotives,  cars, 
machinery,  etc.  He  has  charge  of  th6  draughts- 
men engaged  in  work  connected  therewith,  draw- 
ings, etc.  He  reports  to  the  general  master 
mechanic  or  superintendent  of  cars,  according  to 
the  work  he  is  engaged  upon,  or  to  either  solely, 
as  may  be  prescribed. 


A  well-appointed  physical  and  chemical  labora- 
tory^, equipped  with  suitable  machinery  and  fit- 
tings for  making  physical  and  chemical  tests  of 
iron,  steel,  springs  and  so  on,  and  chemical  tests 
of  other  materials,  such  as  oils,  paints,  water,  etc., 
is  a  necessary  accessory  of  the  machinery  depart- 
ment of  a  railroad. 

The  laboratory  should  be  in  charge  of  an  engi- 
neer of  tests.  He  will  require  such  assistants  as 
may  be  necessary  to  make  tests  and   analyses 


278 


RAILWAY   EQUIPMENT. 


promptly,  and  also  to  inspect  such  material  as 
car  wheels,  tires,  axles,  round  and  bar  iron,  steel, 
boiler  plate,  etc.,  all  of  which  kinds  of  supplies 
should  be  bought  under  specifications. 

If  a  special  building  is  prepared  for  the  labora- 
tory, it  may  be  built  tw^o  stories  high,  with  the 
draughting,  blue  printing  and  mechanical  engi- 
neer's office  on  the  second  floor. 


Pneumatic  Hoist  for  Emptying  Clinker  or  Ash  Pits, 

The  building  used  for  a  laboratory  will  afford, 
in  many  cases,  desirable  headquarters.  Here  may 
be  grouped  the  offices  of  superintendent  of  motive 
powder  (general  master  mechanic)  and  superin- 
tendent of  cars,  with  their  assistants  and  clerical 
forces.  These  varied  and  important  uses  require 
that  the  building  should  be  centrally  located, 
ample,  w^ell  lighted  and  heated,  and  carefully 
ventilated.    This  association  of  different  offices 


THE  MA CHINER Y  DEPARTMENT.  279 

in  one  building  near  to  valuable  sources  of 
information  will  tend  much  to  simplify  business 
and  expedite  work.  It  renders  'co-operation 
easier  and,  therefore,  more  likely  to  occur.* 


Important  features  which  relate  to  shop  and 
attendant  w^ork  are  those  questions  connected 
with  the  handling  of  material  and  keeping  of  the 
time  of  workmen  and  others.  In  regard  to  the 
first,  it  is  referred  to  very  fully  in  one  of  the 
accompanying  volumes  entitled  "  Disbursements 
of  Railways."  I  have  there  discussed  the  disciplin- 
ary and  other  questions  which  enter  into  the  care- 
ful, prudent  and  economical  purchase  of  material, 
its  inspection  when  bought,  its  care  afterward, 
its  disbursement  in  connection  with  the  opera- 
tions of  a  road,  and,  finally,  the  accounting 
involved,  embracing,  among  other  things,  the 
charging  of  the  material  to  the  thing  upon  which 
it  is  expended. 

* "  The  concentration  of  offices,  in  my  judgment,  is  just  as 
important  as  the  grouping  of  various  parts  of  the  work  so  as  to 
avoid  the  labor  which  will  occur  if  they  are  separated.  The 
introduction  of  telephones  has  made  this  grouping  of  offices 
perfectly  practicable.  With  a  good  shop  telephone  system 
each  head  of  a  department  can  be  in  close  communication  with 
his  various  shop  foremen,  and  it  is  a  great  advantage  in  having 
the  head  men  in  the  same  building.  A  central  building  of  this 
kind  should  always  have  a  convenient  meeting  room.  We 
believe  that  the  most  economical  management  of  railroads  is 
where  there  is  the  closest  co-operation  of  departments.  This 
co-operation  is  best  accomplished  by  periodical  meetings. 
The  same  benefit  that  the  head  officials  obtain  by  such  meet- 
ings, subordinates  obtain." — Mr,  G.  IV.  Rhodes, 


280 


RAILWAY  EQUIPMENT. 


i 


In  re^ai^d  to  the  principles  which  govern  those 
connected  generally  with  the  machinery  depart- 
ment, so  far  as  relates  to 
questions  of  labor  as  be- 
tween employer  and  em- 
ployee they  are  discussed 
in  the  volume  '^Railway 
Organization."  Other  and 
more  practical  fea- 
tures, such  as  those 
connected  with  the 
keeping  of  the 
time  of  employees, 
payment  of  wages, 
distribution  of  the 
pay-roll  to  the  vari- 
ous accounts  upon 
which  the  labor  has 
been  expended,  are  discussed  in  the  volume  on 
Disbursements. 

Many  things  of  the  greatest  possible  impor- 
tance, as  everyone  recognizes,  enter  into  ques- 
tions of  labor.  In  the  first  place,  the  principles 
which  govern  it,  as  between  employer  and  em- 
ploye, must  be  rightly  understood  by  both,  in 
order  that  justice  may  be  done  and  neither  party 
suffer  through  ignorance  or  inadvertence.  I  have 
taken  up  this  phase  of  the  subject  at  consider- 
able length  in  the  book  referred  to  above  and, 
w^hile  I  feel  that  I  have  not  been  able  to  do  it 
justice,  I  have  endeavored  to  throw  such  light  on 
it  as  my  experience  and  research  enable  me  to  do. 

♦The  best  practice,  at  terminals  and  water  stations,  is  to  erect  a  tank  sim- 
ilar to  this  illustration,  only  higher,  or  an  Iron  standpipe,  at  a  distance  from 
the  track  anri  at  a  considerable  elevation.  Connection  is  then  made  thereto 
with  water-cranes  or  "penstocks,"  located  on  convenient  points  of  the  yards. 


Water  Tank.* 


1 


THE  MA  CHINER  Y  DEPAR  TMENT.  281 

In  regard  to  the  hum-drum  of  daily  life  on  a 
railroad,  the  appliances  must  be  such  that  those 
who  work  in  the  machiner}^  department  or  else- 
where shall  surely  be  allowed  the  full  time  they 
work.  This  requires  that  the  accounts  shall  be 
kept  accurately  and  that  returns  thereof  shall 
be  rendered  to  headquarters  and  payment  made 
accordingly.  This  in  the  interests  of  the  em- 
ploye. On  the  part  of  the  employer  it  is  required 
that  he  should  know  exactly  what  the  labor  has 
been  expended  upon  and  the  cost  thereof,  so  that 
he  may,  at  his  leisure,  classify  it  month  by  month, 
or  in  detail,  as  his  interests  suggest.  All  these 
things  are  matters  of  routine,  and  provision  is 
made  therefor,  both  as  regards  wages  and  the 
accounting  connected  therewith,  in  the  volume 
referred  to  on  ''Disbursements  of  Railways." 

Questions  of  accounts  relating  to  material  and 
labor  do  not  affect  directly  the  care  and  repair  of 
locomotives  and  cars,  but, 
incidentally,  they  do,  so  that 
in  studying  the  theme  as  a 
whole  they  must  be  consid- 
ered. This  proves,  if  proof 
were  necessary,  which  it  is 

not,    what     I    have     so    often  ^  Lubricating  Device. 

called  attention  to  elsewhere  throughout  this 
work,  namely,  that  in  order  to  understand  a  par- 
ticular department  of  railroad  work,  one  must  be 
generally  familiar  with  all  departments.  It  is  not 
enough  to  know  how  a  shop  should  be  located, 
what  machinerjf  it  should  contain  and  how  such 

Thus  a  large  point  will  have  a  complete  waterworks  system  supplied  from 
one  reservoir,  instead  of  employing  several  tanks,  like  the  illustration,  which 
render  the  grounds  unsightly,  take  up  valuable  trackage  space  and  obscure 
the  vision,  if  on  curves. 


282 


RAILWAY  EQUIPMENT. 


machinery  shall  be  used.  We  must  have  knowl- 
edge concerning  questions  collateral  thereto, 
which  questions,  one  by  one,  will  be  bound  to 
reach  out  and  overlap  others  until,  finally,  they 
cover  the  whole  railway  world. 


CHAPTER  V. 

9 
ARRANGEMENT    OF    SHOP   LABOR — SPECIALIZATION    OF 

WORK — COMPARISON    OF    COST,    ETC. 

Each  year's  experience,  it  is  apparent,  affords 
valuable  information  in  regard  to  the  location, 
arrangement,  machinery  and  government  of  the 
shops  of  railroads.  In  other  words,  we  are  learn- 
ing from  our  experience.  One  marked  tendency 
is  in  the  direction  of  a  reduction  in  the  number  of 
repair  shops;  in  concentration,  so  to  speak,  so  far 
as  it  is  practicable.  Too  great  concentration  is 
both  inconvenient  and  expensive.  Light  repair 
shops  must  be  located  where  mishaps  are  likely 
to  occur.  The  daily  value  of  an  engine  or  car  is 
too  great  to  warrant  sending  it  a  long  distance 
to  effect  some  slight  repair  that  may  be  made 
quickly  and  at  small  cost  at  a  shop  conveniently 
located. 

So  that  while  there  is  a  tendency  in  the  direc- 
tion of  centralization,  it  is  being  carried  on  intel- 
ligently and  with  a  view  to  the  best  results. 

An  examination  of  the  organization  and  work- 
ings of  shops  of  railroads  show  an  ever-growing 
knowledge  of  the  needs  of  the  service  and  a  dis- 
position to  make  use  of  the  best  known  and  most 
economical  methods. 

(283) 


284  RAILWAY  EQUIPMENT. 

Another  tendency  in  connection  with  the  care 
and  maintenance  of  the  locomotives  and  cars  of 
railroads  is  the  disposition  to  concentrate  respon- 
sibility in  the  hands  of  particular  men  in  charge 
of  these  two  great  departments.  At  one  time 
there  was  a  master  mechanic  and  master  car 
builder  on  every  division  of  a  railroad,  each  act- 
ing more  or  less  independently  of  the  other. 
The  result  was  multiplicity  of  patterns  and  de- 
vices, costly  supervision  and  more  or  less  clash- 
ing. With  greater  concentration  of  authority, 
or  more  systematic  co-operation  between  respon- 
sible heads  in  its  absence,  we  find  that  the  devices 
used  in  connection  with  the  equipment  and  shop 
machinery  are  made  to  harmonize  over  the  whole 
extent  of  a  property,  as  new  equipment  or  appli- 
ances take  the  place  of  that  which  is  worn  out. 
This  effects  a  saving  to  a  railroad  not  only  in  the 
quantity  of  material  it  carries,  but  also  in  ma- 
chinery and  labor.  It  is  also  apparent  that  con- 
centration, or,  in  its  absence,  perfect  co-operation, 
is  necessary  to  secure  the  maximum  efficiency 
that  is  possible  in  connection  with  the  use  of 
locomotives  and  cars  by  having  repairing  and 
storing  done  at  the  most  available  points  and  in 
the  best  way. 

Another  tendency  of  shop  organization  on  rail- 
roads is  in  the  direction  of  piece  work,  or  in  the 
absence  of  such  method,  of  having  particular 
men  do  particular  things.  Where  piece  work  is 
practicable  under  competitive  influences,  great 
savings  are  oftentimes  possible  compared  with 


ARRANGEMENT  OF  SHOP  LABOR.  285 

the  old  method  of  working  by  the  hour.  Under 
this  plan  (so  long  practiced  by  private  manufac- 
turers), the  man  who  is  skillful  and  hard  working 
derives  the  whole  benefit  thereof.  He  is  not 
liandicapped  by  lazy  or  inefficient  companions. 
The  manufacturer  is  also  protected  and  eman- 
cipated. If  a  workman  occupies  two  days  in 
doing  one  day's  work,  the  loss  is  his  under  the 
piecework  system.  Moreover,  when  men  are 
hired  by  the  hour,  compensation  must  be  fixed 
for  the  whole  force  on  the  basis  of  the  average 
amount  that  is  accomplished.  This  decreases 
the  wages  of  the  good  man  and  increases  those 
of  the  poor  man.  Nothing  could  be  more  unjust. 
Piecework  being  based  on  individual  effort,  the 
tie  that  under  the  old  system  bound  the  good 
and  the  bad  together  is  severed. 

It  is  noticeable  that  the  distribution  of  shop 
labor  of  railroads,  as  well  as  the  labor  of  other 
manufacturers,  is  in  the  direction  of  particular- 
izing or  specializing  the  work.  Thus,  a  machin- 
ist instead  of  occupying  himself  in  common, 
according  to  his  impulse  or  the  order  of  the 
foreman,  on  different  parts  of  a  locomotive  or 
tender,  concentrates  his  efforts  on  particular 
things,  such  as  the  vaJves,  guides,  driving  boxes, 
steam  pipes,  boiler  trimmings,  wheels,  and  so  on.* 

*  The  minuteness  of  the  division  will,  of  course,  depend  on 
the  amount  of  work  to  be  done  at  the  shop.  Where  this  is  little, 
great  diffusion  will  be  necessary.  Where  there  is  a  great  amount 
of  work,  men  may  be  occupied  almost  exclusively  with  particu- 
lar things.  One  experienced  %^Titer  on  the  subject,  Mr.  L.  L. 
Smith,  suggests  that  the  valve  gang  of  laborers  shall  have  charge 


286  RAILWAY  EQUIPMENT. 

The  value  of  specializing  the  work  of  shop 
laborers  and  others  engaged  on  locomotives  is 
measurabl}^  the  same  in  regard  to  repairing  and 
renewing  cars.  In  fact,  a  minute  subdivision  of 
labor  is  being  enforced  more  and  more  each  day 
throughout  the  railway  service.  Men  everywhere 
and  in  every  department  of  life  are  becoming 
specialists.  Where  Humboldt  set  out  to  describe 
the  universe,  men  are  now  content  to  study  and 
portray  a  blade  of  grass.  Particularizing  work  is 
not  only  true  of  railroads,  but  it  is  true  of  manu- 
facturers and  business  men  generally.  At  one 
time  in  the  experience  of  railroads  a  minute 
division  of  work,  such  as  that  mentioned,  was 
not  possible;  there  were  not  enough  locomotives 


of  the  valve  motion  work  and  the  taking  down  and  putting  up 
steam  chests,  rockers,  links,  eccentrics,  tumbling  shafts,  reverse 
levers,  and  setting  the  valves;  that  the  guide  gang  shall  have 
charge  of  the  guide,  crosshead  and  piston  work  and  taking 
down,  fitting  and  putting  up  cylinders,  saddles  and  frames; 
that  the  driving  box  gang  shall  fit  up  the  driving  boxes,  shoes, 
wedges,  and  also  repair  and  fit  up  the  engine  trucks;  that  the 
steam  pipe  gang  shall  fit  up,  test,  and  put  in  the  steam  pipe, 
dry  pipe,  dome,  and  throttle  rigging;  that  the  boiler  trimming 
gang  shall  have  charge  of  the  cab  and  engine  trimmings,  in- 
jectors and  pipes,  also  the  clamping  of  the  frame  and  finishing 
of  the  engine;  that  the  wheel  gang  shall  strip,  take  out  and  put 
in  driving  wheels,  and  fit  up  driver  brakes,  gTates  and  grate  rig- 
ging; and,  finally,  the  general  laborers  shall  clean  the  work  and 
distribute  it  to  and  from  the  machine  shop  and  make  themselves 
generally  useful.  Of  course,  this  division  that  Mr.  Smith  sug- 
gests will  depend  upon  the  amount  of  work.  He  probably  has 
in  mind  some  particular  shop  where  such  a  division  of  labor  as 
he  suggests  will  most  advantageously  occupy  the  force  re- 
quired. No  two  shops,  it  is  probable,  will  be  exactly  alike  in 
this  respect. 


ARRANGEMENT  OF  SHOP  LABOR.  287 

and  cars  to  warrant  it,  but  with  the  equipment 
railroads  now  generally  possess,  there  is  sufficient 
shop  work  to  keep  men  occupied  advantageously 
on  special  things. 

The  tendency  to  subdivide  w^ork  will  increase 
rather  than  diminish  with  the  passage  of  time 
and,  taken  in  connection  with  the  system  of  piece 
work  I  have  referred  to,  will  effect  great  reduc- 
tions in  the  shop  outlay  of  railroads,  compared 
with  early  and  more  primitive  methods. 

However,  in  order  that  a  railroad  company 
shall  be  certain  that  full  advantage  is  derived  by 
it  from  the  best  known  methods,  comparisons  of 
outlay  must  be  made;  thus,  a  company  must 
keep  an  account  of  the  cost  in  hours  of  different 
kinds  of  work  so  as  to  compare  results  wdth 
other  shops  on  the  same  system  and  Avith  similar 
work  on  other  railroads.  It  is  only  by  such 
comparisons  that  it  is  possible  to  determine  the 
measure  of  efficiency  and  economy  exercised. 
Every  company  possesses  or  may  possess  facili- 
ties with  which  to  make  comparisons  of  work 
carried  on  at  different  shops  on  its  own  system. 
Co-operation  among  railroads  in  this  direction 
will  afford  them  knowledge  of  what  other  com- 
panies are  doing.  In  this  way  progressive  men 
will  be  encouraged  to  push  forward,  while  the 
sluggards  wdll  be  spurred  on  as  they  could  be  in 
no  other  way.  Much  of  the  efficiency  that  char 
acterizes  the  handling  of  passengers  and  the 
ticketing  of  the  same  in  America  is  due  to  th^ 
periodical  meetings  of  the  officials  in  charge  of 


288  RAILWAY    EQUIPMENT. 

passenger  traffic  and  the  comparisons  they  have 
made  and  the  suggestions  and  betterments  that 
free  discussion  among  them  has  brought  out. 
Great  advantages  have  similarly  accrued  to  the 
accounting  department  of  railroads.  For  many 
years  those  in  charge  of  locomotives  and  cars 
have  had  similar  meetings,  and  it  is  not  too 
much  to  say  of  these  meetings  and  others  of 
a  like  tenor,  that  railway  progress  has  been 
advanced  by  them  one  hundred  years  or  more. 
The  discussions  they  evoke  are  frank  and  full, 
every  person  in  attendance  being  animated  by  a 
desire  to  acquire  knowledge  of  what  is  best  in 
connection  with  the  construction,  maintenance 
of  equipment,  and  the  arrangement  and  system- 
atization  of  shops  and  shop  work,  and  as  the 
views  promulgated  are  not  those  of  theorists, 
but  the  result  of  practical  experience  and  ob- 
servation, the  result  is  a  wide  diffusion  of  useful 
knowledge. 

A  new  idea  that  is  promulgated  at  one  of 
these  meetings,  if  it  is  good,  is  sure  to  be  ac- 
cepted in  the  long  run.  Opposition  only  serves 
to  broaden  it,  so  that  finally,  when  accepted  it 
is  like  beaten  gold.  The  truth  of  this  is  evinced 
so  far  as  uniformity  exists  in  America  in  con- 
nection with  shop  work  and  the  equipment  of 
railways.  A  conception,  to  be  generally  adopted, 
must  be  faultless,  or,  at  least,  the  best  that  is 
practicable.  In  this  manner  we  are  little  by 
little  creeping  away  from  primitive  methods  to 
higher  ground. 


ARRAXGEMEXT  OF  SHOP  LABOR.  289 

It  will  be  seen,  therefore,  that  in  suggesting 
that  railroads  generally  shall  compare  the  cost 
of  different  outlays  in  connection  with  equip- 
ment and  shop  labor  and  shop  implements,  I  am 
not  advocating,  except,  perhaps,  in  this  particular 
direction,  anything  new.  It  is  probable  that  in 
making  the  comparisons  I  refer  to,  the  number  of 
hours  occupied  in  doing  a  particular  thing  will 
not  be  the  same  on  different  roads,  and  cannot  be 
made  so  because  of  inherent  differences  in  the 
quality  of  the  labor  and  more  particularly  the 
relative  facilities  different  companies  possess  or 
can  afford  in  the  way  of  machinery^  tools  and  shop 
facilities;  but,  taking  into  account  the  differences 
of  this  kind  that  will  exist,  immense  good  will 
result  from  the  comparisons  I  speak  of.  The  dif- 
ferences will  serve  to  excite  inquiry  and  suggest 
further  comparisons.  Ways  and  means  will  thus 
come  to  be  discussed.  This  will  bring  up  ques- 
tions not  only  regarding  the  supervision  and 
division  of  labor,  but  also  questions  regarding  the 
implements  with  which  men  work,  their  tools,  the 
machinery  of  the  shops,  its  arrangement,  utility, 
highest  adaptability,  care  and  so  on.  Compari- 
sons of  this  kind  will  never  grow  old  and  will 
never  cease  to  be  valuable  in  business  affairs. 

The  benefits  that  accrue  to  railroads  through 
interchange  of  views  between  officials  in  regard 
to  matters  relating  to  equipment  and  shop  work, 
as  I  have  had  occasion  to  state  elsewhere,. 
may  be  supplemented  to  advantage  by  encour- 
aging  the   ^'arious   groups   that   constitute  the 

19     Vol.  I 


290  RAILWAY  EQUIPMENT. 

engineering  and  mechanical  forces  connected 
with  the  rolling  stock  and  shop  work  to  meet 
and  interchange  views  in  regard  thereto.  Such 
discussions  are  constantly  going  on  between  indi- 
vidual emplo3^es.  They  may,  in  many  instances, 
it  is  probable,  be  made  more  effective  by  enlarg- 
ing their  scope.  It  does  not  matter  particularly 
how  this  is  brought  about.  In  some  cases  such 
results  may  be  secured  by  having  stated  meetings 
at  which  matters  relating  to  equipment,  machin- 
ery, tools,  arrangement  of  shops  and  kindred 
topics,  are  criticised  and  discussed,  and  questions 
asked  and  answered  in  relation  thereto.  The 
great  object  to  be  attained  is  to  elicit  interest 
and  investigation  on  the  part  of  the  skilled  men 
connected  with  equipment  and  shop  work  as  to 
what  is  practicable  and  best.  To  what  extent 
this  can  be  done  and  just  how  it  can  be  most 
effectively  accomplished  will  depend  upon  cir- 
cumstances, of  which  the  officials  immediately  in 
charge  will  be  the  best  judges.  There  cannot  be 
any  fixed  rule.  Of  one  thing  there  can  be  no 
reasonable  doubt,  however,  namel}^  that  the 
employe  who  is  led  to  seriously  consider  and 
discuss  the  best  way  to  care  for  machinery  and 
tools,  or  the  most  effective  way  to  utilize  shop 
labor,  will  be  more  likely  to  give  such  things 
consideration  in  his  everyday  life  than  those 
who  do  not  think  of  such  matters  except  incon- 
sequentially, or  in  an  abstract  way  only.  This  is 
human  nature. 


CHAPTER    VI. 


CONSTRUCTION  AND  OPERATION  OF   THE  AIR  BRAKE 

THE  BRAKE  SHOE — HISTORY  AND  EVOLUTION  OF 
THE    BRAKE. 

Note. — In  connection  with  this  chapter  and  as  a  part  thereof,  the  atten- 
tion of  the  reader  is  respectfully  called  to  the  volume  "The  Westinghouse 
and  New  York  Air  Brakes"  forming  one  of  this  series,  further  illustrating 
and  explaining  the  appliances  of  the  Westinghouse  and  New  York  Brake 
Apparatus.  While  the  matter  contained  herein  is  as  full  and  compre- 
hensive as  a  treatise  relating  to  a  subject  so  great  and  complex  can  be  made, 
the  volume  in  question  will  be  found  to  afford  still  further  light,  and  so  will 
be  of  value  to  trainmen  and  others  in  studying  the  workings  of  the  air-brake  in 
all  its  complicated  parts. 

In  discussing  the  practical  uses  of  the  brake  in 
connection  with  railways,  a  brief  reference  to  its 
origin  and  evolution  is  interesting.  Like  every 
other  object  of  utility  it  was  exceedingly  simple 

in  the  first  instance.     Its  dis- 
covery grew  out  of  the  press- 
ing need  for  it.     So  far  as  we 
know,  the  lev^er  brake,  manip- 
ulated by  the  hand  or  foot, 
was  the  first 
formal  device 
of  this  nature. 
^'Applied  orig- 
inally to  road 
waofons  it  was 


Early  Lever  Brake.    1630. 


afterward  found  equally  adaptable  to  the  vehi- 
cles of  railroads. 

Another  almost  equally  simple  form  of  brake 
was  that  used  at  New-Castle-on-Tyne  in  the  sev- 
enteenth century.  However,  there  have  been 
many  forms  of  primitive  brake  quite  as  archaic 

(291) 


292 


RAILWAY  EQUIPMENT. 


as  either  of  these.     Some  of  them  are  illustrated 
herewith. 

Among  these  crude  devices  may  be  mentioned 
the  "Le  Caan"  brake,  so-called.  This  was  oper- 
ated by  dropping  the  lever.  When  this  was  done 
the  shoe  of  the  brake,  falling  to  the  ground, 
formed  a  wedge,  thus  retarding  the  revolution 

of  the  wheel. 

Among  other 
primitive  make- 
shifts there  were 
various  forms  of 
chain  brake,  and 
later  the  devices 
in  which  steam 
was  used;  also, 
the  hydraulic 
brake,  operated 
by  liquids  stored 
under  high  pres- 
sure. 
Eeaching  a  higher  grade,  comes  the  so-called 
plain  vacuum  brake,  operated  by  an  ejector, which 
withdraws  the  air  from  the  pipes,  thereby  pro- 
ducing a  vacuum  more  or  less  perfect. 

Then  the  automatic  vacuum  brake,  operated 
by  the  application  of  air  at  atmospheric  pressure 
to  a  vacuum  cylinder. 

Also  the  compressed  air  brake,  worked  by  an 
air  pump,  forcing  air  into  the  pipes,  the  air  being 
stored  in  a  reservoir  under  the  vehicle. 

Still  other  forms  and  modifications  might  be 


New-Castle-on-Tyne.    1630. 


THE  AIR  BRAKE. 


293 


enumerated,  but  those  given  are  suflBcient  to  rep- 
resent, substantially,  the  progressive  steps  in  the 
evolution  of  the  brake,  and  direct  attention  to 
the  practices  observed  and  the  principles  in- 
volved. 

Among  the  writings  of  the  ancients  we  find 
mention  of  the  use  of  the  brake,  coupled  with 
vague  references  to  the  principles  governing  it. 
Nothing,  however,  definite.  Indeed,  there  was 
little  use  for  such  a  device  in  connection  with 
the  chariots  and 
rude  carts  and 
wagons  used  in 
the  primitive 
ages  of  the 
world.  For  a 
long  period  the 
axle  and  wheel 
were  one  and 
revolved  in  uni- 
son. Such  was 
the  primitive 
cart.  When  this  was  the  case  there  could  have 
been  little  need  of  the  friction  afforded  by  a 
brake  to  stop  the  vehicle. 

Indeed,  the  difficulty  was  to  make  the  wheel 
revolve  at  all.  Later  on,  as  the  class  of  road  ve- 
hicles improved  and  the  highways  became  more 
passable,  rude  brakes,  as  we  have  seen,  came  into 
use.  They  were  operated  by  a  lever,  applied 
with  the  hand  or  foot  in  a  general  way,  as  shown 
in  the  accompanying  devices. 


The   "  Le  Caan  "   Brake,  1796. 


294 


RAILWAY  EQUIPMENT. 


With  the  advent  of  the  smooth  and  compara- 
tively level  track  of  railways,  some  means  of 
controlling  the  movement  of  vehicles  became  a 
matter  of  prime  importance;  hence  the  universal 
adoption  and  use  of  a  brake.  Through  the  in- 
troduction of  air  brakes  trains  w4ien  moving  at 

a  high  rate  of 
speed  can  be 
stopped  quickly 
w^ithout  undue 
strain  on  the 
machinery  or 
wear  and  tear 
on  the  track. 
Formerly  they 
were  compelled 
to  slow  up  grad- 
ually, thus  los- 
ing much  time 
and,  in  many  instances,  occasioning  accidents 
that  railways  are  now  happily  free  from. 

The  evolution  of  the  railway  brake  is  both  in- 
teresting and  instructive.  It  has  at  last  reached 
a  stage  of  great  complication,  as  well  as  of  great 
efficiency.  The  sum  total  of  railway  machinery  at 
the  time  the  first  railroad  was  opened,  from  Liv- 
erpool to  Manchester,  in  1829,  was  not  greater 
than  the  machinery  of  the  brake  and  its  con- 
comitants at  the  present  day.  The  scientific 
features  of  the  first  locomotive  were  exceedingly 
simple,  while  the  machinery  of  the  air  brake  is 
anything  but  simple. 


A  Primitive  Device,  Known  as  the  "Sprag"  Brake. 


THE  AIR  BRAKE. 


295 


One  of  the  most  important  devices  in  connec- 
tion with  the  operation  of  railroads,  and  one  that 
grows  in  importance  each  day  with  the  added 
weight  and  speed  of  trains,  is  the  brake;  the  de- 
vice b}^  which  their  movements  may  be  controlled 
at  will,  either  by  persons  on  the  locomotive  or 
by  those  who  fill  the  cars.  An  acceptable  brake 
requires  that  it  should  control  absolutely  the 
train  under  every  circumstance  as  regards  its 
weight  and  speed;  also,  as  regards  weather  and 
grade,  not  forgetting,  moreover,  such  mishaps  as 
the  separation  of  the  train  while  in  motion.  To  ful- 
fill these  conditions  it  is  apparent  that  the  device 
must  be  automatic  and  self-applying  in  the  case 
of  the  breaking  in  two  of  the  train,  or  other  simi- 
lar accident.  To  be  of  the  highest  utility  it  must 
also  be  uniform  in  its  workings, 
quick  in  its  application,  and  equally 
quick  in  releasing  its  hold  when 
the  brake  is 
no  longer 
needed.  It  is 
also  highly  de- 
sirable that  it 
should  be  dur- 
able and  rea- 
sonably eco- 
nomical as 
regards  c  o  n- 
struction  and 
maintenance.  These  last  features,  like  others 
that  are  necessary  and  desirable  in  connection 


Lever  Brake.    1825. 


296 


RAILWAY  EQUIPMENT. 


with  the  device,  will  be  more  and  more  fully 
attained  as  the  needs  of  the  situation  are  studied 
and  railways  have  had  greater  experience  in  the 
use  of  the  device. 

The  brake  of  the  present  day  is  so  perfect  in  its 
working  and  control  of  the  train  that  it  is  justly 
considered  one  of  the  greatest  safety  devices  of 
railways.  Another  feature  is  the  saving  it  effects 
in  the  wear  and  tear  of  machinery  and  track 
through  the  smoothness  and  certainty  of  its  oper- 
ation. That  its  development  is  still  incomplete, 
however,  goes  without  saying.  What  man  ex- 
hausts himself  upon  to-day,  what  seems  to  him 
to  be  the  height  of  perfection,  he 
discovers  npon  further  experi- 
ence and  reflection  to 
from  perfect. 
Man's  growth 
is  ever  shown 
in  his  devices 
— his  evolu- 
tion in  his 
successful 
striving  after 
som  ething 
better. 

One  of  the  first  raihvay  brakes  of  which  we 
have  particulars,  consisted  of  a  wooden  lever 
pivoted  to  the  side  of  the  vehicle  at  one  end  and 
supported  at  the  other  by  a  short  chain  or  strajD. 
It  is  illustrated  herewith.  This  was  some  time  in 
the  seventeenth  century.    In  applying  it  the  chain 


Early  Form  of  Brake. 


THE  AIR  BRAKE. 


297 


was  slipped  off  the  lever  and  the  latter  pressed 
downward.  This  primitive  device,  manipulated 
w^holly  by  the  strength  of  the  person  in  charge, 
contained  the  underlying  principle  from  which 
all  subsequent  improvements  have  been  evolved. 

Robert  Stephenson  is  said  to  have  invented  a 

steam  brake 

for  the  driving 
wheel  of  the 
locomotive 
about  1833.* 
However,  it 
was  applied 
only  to  one 
side  of  the 
machine.      1 1  ^^^'^^  ^'^^^^  ^832. 

is  said  to  have  contained  primarily  the  elements 
of  the  brake  used  since  on  the  driving  wheels  of 
locomotives,  viz.:  Cylinder,  toggle-joint  and  sus- 
pension links.  The  idea  that  a  similar  brake 
might  be  used,  with  extended  appliances,  on  the 
cars  attached  to  locomotives,  also  occurred  to 
him,  it  is  said. 

Among  the  devices  for  checking  and  moder- 
ating vehicles,  the  hand  chain  brake  so  generally 
used  at  one  time  was  a  most  effective  invention. 
Everyone  is  familiar  with  its  operation.  It  con- 
sisted of  a  chain  or  rod  running  under  the  car  at- 
tached to  a  frame  swinging  beneath  and  hanging 

*His  steam  brake  must  not  be  confounded  with  the  air 
brake,  which  latter  uses  steam  to  obtain  the  air  pressure 
required. 


298 


RAILWAY  EQUIPMENT. 


at  right  angles  to  the  vehicle.  The  end  of  the 
rod  was  attached  by  a  chain  to  the  brake  shaft, 
where  the  power  was  applied  by  a  wheel  worked 
by  hand. 

Another  form  of  chain  brake  is  that  applied  to 
the  train  as  a  whole.  The  end  of  the  chain  is 
attached  to  the  brake  shaft  or  lever  where  the 
power  is  applied,  and  the  other  end  to  the  rear  of 
the  last  car.  When  the  brake  is  applied  the  ten- 
dency of  the 
chain  is  to 
draw  into  a 
straight  line, 
thus  swing- 
ing the  brake 
frame  under 
the  car, 
which  i  11 
turn  pulls 


steam  Brake  for  Tender,  1832. 

rods  attached  to  it  and  connecting  with  the  brake 
beams,  thus  applying  the  brakes.  It  is,  however, 
a  sectional  rather  than  a  continuous  brake,  and  is 
valuable  only  on  short  trains. 

Another  early  invention  was  the  hydraulic 
brake.  Water,  or  other  liquid,  was  stored  under 
pressure,  and  operated  by  a  continuous  pipe  car- 
ried along  the  train,  with  cylinders  for  applying 
the  force  beneath  the  cars.  The  steam  pump  on 
the  engine  generally  supplied  the  pressure.  A 
serious  objection  to  the  hydraulic  brake  is  the 
susceptibility  of  the  liquid  to  the  cold.  This  is 
an  objection  also  to  steam.     In  cold  weather  the 


THE  AIR  BRAKE. 


299 


water  generated  by  the 
steam  freezes  and 
destroj^s  or  les- 
sens the  appli- 
cation of  the 
power  by  clog- 
ging the  brake 
shoe  or  by  ob- 
str noting  the 
apparatus  itself.  ^^^^^^^^^ 

In      addition     to  Stephenson  i^  Locomotive  Steam  Brake  for 

,,    .  r.    ,     1  1  Driving  Wheels,  1833. 

this    ratal     ob- 
struction, steam  is  also  objectionable  for  use  on 
engines   because  of  obscuring  the  view  of  the 
engineer  when  the  exhaust  escapes. 

The  vacuum  brake  is  in  some  sense  a  competi- 
tor of  the  compressed  air  brake  referred  to  else- 


Car  Brake  Operated  by  Steam,  1839. 


where.  It  consists  of  an  ejector  for  producing 
the  vacuum  (i.  e.,  exhausting  air  from  the  pipes); 
a  continuous  line  of  pipe;  diaphrams;  and,  finally, 
couplings  between  the  cars.  The  force  is  applied 
from  the  engine.     In  its  operation   the   ejector 


5tlO 


RAILWAY  EQUIPMENT. 


Gearing  of  Brake  Operated  by  Steam,  France,  1840. 


takes  air  from  the  entire  train  pipe  and  tiie 
various  diaphragms,  and  in  doing  this  sets  the 
brakes  throughout  the  train.*  As  air  is  re- 
admitted to  the  pipes  the  brakes  are  released. 
Various  forms  of   vacuum    brake    have   been 

invented.  This 
brake  enjoys 
considerable 
favor  because  of 
its  simplicity. 
Particularly  is 
this  true  on 
roads  where  the  trains  are  light  and  short  and 
the  stops  frequent. 

•  The  vacuum  brake  has  some  features  not  pos- 
sessed by  the  automatic  air  brake,  thus  it  may  be 
operated  so  as  to  only  partially  release  the  brake; 
moreover,  fre- 
quent and  rapid 
application  of 
the  brake  does 
not  reduce  its 
available  brak- 
ing power. 
When  long  and 
heavy  trains  are 
used,  however, 
the  vacuum  brake  does  not  meet  the  demands  of 
the  service.  This  is  principally  owing  to  the 
necessity  of  having  abnormally  large  apparatus 

*0nly  Bufficient  air  is   taken    out    to    produce    the    result 
desired. 


American  Modern  Hand  Brake,  1865 


THE  AIR  BRAKE.  301 

(pistons,  levers,  etc.),  in  order  to  get  sufficient 
resisting  power  upon  the  wheels;  and  also  be- 
cause it  is  in  such  cases  slow  to  act.  However, 
the  vacuum  brake  is  constantly  undergoing  im- 
provements and  the  objections  to  it  wall  doubt- 
less in  time  be  overcome  for  all  classes  and  kinds 
of  service. 


An  important  consideration,  it  may  be  said,  in 
connection  with  the  brake  is  that  part  of  the  ap- 
paratus commonly  called  the  shoe,  or  device  that 
is  applied  directly  to  the  wheel,  and  against 
which  the  friction  is  produced  that  retards  the 
latter.  It  is  manifest  that  the  tenacity  of  the 
shoe  depends  not  only  on  the  force  with  which  it 
is  applied,  but  also  upon  the  kind  and  quality  of 
the  material  of  which  it  is  made.  Another  thing 
of  great  importance  in  connection  with  the  shoe 
is  the  durability  of  the  material  used.  The  power 
with  which  this  apparatus  is  applied  and  the  tre- 
mendous friction  consequent  thereon  must,  it  is 
apparent,  quickly  destroy  the  device  unless  the 
material  is  of  the  most  durable  character. 

One  of  the  devices  in  the  early  history  of  the 
brake,  by  which  it  was  made  more  effective,  was 
the  covering  of  that  portion  of  it  which  touched 
the  wheel — the  sole,  in  fact — with  several  thick- 
nesses of  strong  leather.  This  material  may  be 
said  to  have  been  used  generally  before  the  days 
of  railroads.  With  the  latter  highways  came 
heavier  loads,  moving  at  a  higher  speed.     This 


302  RAILWAY  EQUIPMENT. 

required  quicker  and  more  effective  application 
of  the  brakes.  The  heat  resultant  from  this 
necessitated  not  onl}^  that  the  shoe  should  be 
of  metal,  but  also  the  parts  connected  therewith. 

Many  different  kinds  of  material  have  been 
used  in  connection  with  the  brake  shoe,  accord- 
ing to  the  needs  of  the  service  and  the  skill  of 
manufacturers.  In  the  case  of  railroads  a  com- 
mon device  is  made  of  cast  or  wrought  iron; 
sometimes  of  cast  steel,  or  combinations  of  iron 
and  steel,  wood,  leather,  cork,  even  paper.  It  is 
very  desirable,  in  order  to  secure  proper  applica- 
tion, that  the  material,  whatever  it  is,  should  be 
uniform. 

An  expert  on  the  subject  of  brake  shoes  for 
railroads,  a  man  of  intelligence  and  a  suc- 
cessful manufacturer,*  writing  on  this  subject, 
says:  "  The  same  air  pressure  throughout  a  train 
of  cars  on  which  shoes  of  different  hardness  are 
are  used,  will  apply  a  widely  different  friction 
on  the  wheels  of  the  different  cars.  It  is  then 
impossible  to  obtain  the  maximum  braking 
power  for  hard  shoes  without  sliding  those 
wheels  to  w^hich  soft  shoes  are  applied.  It  is 
highly  desirable  to  fix  upon  a  standard  mixture 
for  foundrymen  making  cast  iron  brake  shoes. 
Brake  shoes  are  made  for  three  kinds  of  service: 
on  chilled  wheels,  on  steel-tired  driver  wheels, 
and  on  steel-tired  coach  wheels.  Those  designed 
for  tire  first  mentioned  service  are  made  of  cast 
iron,   or  cast  iron  with  wrought  iron  pieces  in 

*  George  M.  Sargent. 


THE  AIR  BRAKE.  303 

the  face,  or  cast  iron  with  chilled  sections.  .  ,, 
When  cast  iron  is  used  a  strong,  tough  metal  soft 
enough  to  grip  the  wheels  is  economical,  although 
its  first  cost  is  greater  than  a  burnt  grate  bar 
scrap  mixture.  A  mixture  of  number  two  foun- 
dr}^  car  wheels  and  heavy  cast  scrap  has  given 
good  results.  The  combination  cast  and  wrought 
iron  shoe  is  much  more  durable  than  the  plain 
slioe,  and  more  desirable  in  respect  to  uniform- 
ity, because  the  same  amount  of  wrought  iron, 
forming  one-half  the  surface  of  each  shoe,  will 
be  nearly  of  the  same  hardness.  .  .  .  When 
tw^o  surfaces  rub  together  the  harder  will  abrade 
the  softer  and  the  latter  wear  away  quicker,  but 
we  are  limited  in  the  hardness  of  the  shoes  by  the 
co-efficient  of  friction  necessary.  The}^  must  be 
of  a  uniform  hardness,  sufficient  to  grip  the  tire 
without  scoring  it,  and  afford  friction  necessary 
to  make  the  stops.  It  is  evident  that  for  the  dif- 
ferent classes  of  engines  different  kinds  of  shoes 
will  be  required.  The  suburban  passenger  en- 
gine, making  frequent  stops,  should  be  equipped 
with  shoes  less  hard  than  applied  on  a  through 
passenger  engine.  The  combination  cast  iron 
and  steel  shoe  has  the  advantage  that  the  pro- 
portion of  each  metal  may  be  varied  to  suit  the 
requirements  of  the  service.  Brake  shoes  for 
steel  tired  coach  wheels  are  applied  under  en- 
tirely different  conditions.  They  are  made 
either  plain  or  flanged.  The  plain  cast  shoe 
should  be  soft  and  tough.  Whatever  kind  of 
metal  is   used    in  the   flange    coach  shoe,   care 


304 


RA IL WA  Y  EQUIPMENT. 


should  be  taken  that  the  shoe  is  a  good  fit  to  the 

tire,  and  so  hung  that 
the  flange  grooves  in 
the  shoes  are  directly 
opposite  to  the  wheel 
flange,  and  above  all 
that  the  brake  beam 
be  free  to  move  lat- 
erally as  the  wheel 
and  axle  move.  Ex- 
po r  i  m  e  n  t  s  have 
proved  that  a  brake 
beam    hung     rigidly 

Drake  Shoe  FOR  Driving  l^HCEcs-,  frOm      tho      trUCk,     Ih 

combination  with  the 
flange    brake    shoes, 

Brake  Shoe  and  Its  Application  to  the       formS      a      grinding 

^"'^^'''  machine  capable    of 

turning  a  V-shaped  flange,  and  that  even  with 
the  plain  shoe,  lateral  motion  is  of  decided  ad- 
vantage in  protecting  the  flange/' 

In  connection  with  the  use  of  the  brake  shoe, 
it  may  be  said  that  its  application  to  the  flange 
of  the  wheel  was  not  discovered  until  long  after 
it  had  been  applied  to  the  tread.  This  applica- 
tion was  a  new  departure  and  a  valuable  one  in 
many  directions,  as  it  added,  it  is  manifest, 
greatly  to  the  power  of  the  brake.  Its  impor- 
tance will  grow  with  increased  use  and  ability  to 
handle  it.  The  application  of  the  flanged  brake 
shoe  to  the  drivers  of  locomotives  is  general. 
This  because  the  flanged  brake  shoe  tends  to 


THE  AIR  BRAKE.  305 

keep  both  tread  and  flange  in  the  original  form 
and  by  reason  of  the  additional  grip  over  the 
flange.  One  objection  that  has  been  made  to 
the  use  of  the  flanged  brake  shoe  on  cars  is  that 
its  use  in  connection  with  the  tread  creates  a 
pressure  so  great  that  the  wheel  is  inclined  to 
slip.  This,  it  is  apparent,  is  not  so  much  an  ob- 
jection to  the  brake  as  a  lack  of  proper  adjust- 
ment of  the  power  that  manipulates  it.  It  is 
claimed  by  manufacturers  of  flanged  brake  shoes 
that  wdiere  the  device  is  not  -  used  the  tread 
wears  away,  while  the  flange  of  the  wheel  re- 
mains the  same,  thus  creating  a  dangerous  dis- 
parity.* 


The  first  form  of  air  brake  successfully  used  was 
what  is  technically  known  as  the  ''straight"  air 
brake. t  The  compressed  air  that  was  used  was 
stored  in  a  reservoir  under  the  engine.  In  order  to 
set  the  brake  the  engineer's  valve  was  turned  and 
the  air  forced  back  through  the  pipe.  It  thus 
filled  the  cylinders  under  the  car,  and  in  doing  so 
forced  out  the  pistons,  which  brought  the  brake 
shoes  against  the  wheels.  To  release  the  brakes, 
the  air  from  the  engine  drum  was  cut  off  and  the 


*  Further  reference  to  the  brake  shoe  will  be  found  in 
the  volume  "Train  Service,"  under  the  head  of  <*  Car  Wheels." 

t  The  air  brake  must  not  be  confounded  Avith  the  old-fash- 
ioned steam  brake.  In  the  latter  case  steam  was  forced  through 
the  pipes  and  used  as  the  power,  while  in  the  case  of  air  brakes 
air  is  used,  steam  being  employed  merely  to  furnish  the  power 
for  compressing  the  air. 

20    Vol.  1 


306 


RAIL WA Y   EQUIPMENT. 


air  in  the  pipe  and  cylinders  allowed  to  escape 
into  the  atmosphere,  through  the  engineer's  valve. 
The  invention  of  the  air  brake  occurred  about 
1869.  Although  an  improvement  over  the  con- 
tinuous chain  brake  and  other  inventions  of  early 
days,  it  was  still  too  slow  in  releasing  (letting  go 
its  hold  on  the  wheel),  as  all  the  air  in  the  pipe 


The  Vacuum  Brake.  The  diaphragm  (the  semi-oval  device  shown  above) 
consists  of  a  kettle-shaped  iron  casting  with  a  loose  disc  of  heavy  rubbered 
duck  fastened  over  its  mouth  (where  the  two  half  sections  come  together  in 
the  center)  by  means  of  a  ring  and  cap-screws;  the  center  of  the  disc,  or  dia- 
phragm,  being  provided  with  washers  and  an  eye-bolt  for  attachment  to 
the  brake  lever.  When  the  air  is  exhausted  from  diaphragm,  the  pressure 
of  the  atmosphere  from  without  forces  the  rubber  disc  into  the  iron  shell  and, 
pulling  on  the  brake  levers  and  connections,  sets  the  brakes. 

and  cylinders  had  to  escape  through  the  engi- 
neer's valve,  the  longer  the  train  consequently 
the  slower  its  operation.  Another  fault  was,  if  a 
hose  or  pipe  burst  the  brake  was  rendered  use- 
less. Moreover,  if  a  train  became  parted  the 
brake  had  no  effect  whatever  upon  the  rear  sec- 
tion. 


THE  AIR  BRAKE.  307 

r  , 

These  objections  rendered  it  apparent  that  a 
wholly  satisfactory  brake  I'equired  that  the  force 
(air)  for  applying  it  should  be  stored  on  each  car, 
and  so  arranged  that  it  could  be  used  (i.  e.,  the 
brake  set)  by  those  in  the  car,  independent  of  the 
engineer.  Also,  that  it  should  be  automatic  in 
its  action,  ,i.  e.,  that  any  breakage  or  defect  of 
the  apparatus  would  set  the  brake.  The  most 
primitive  conception  of  this  idea  was  a  design  in 
which  the  operativ^e  force  was  a  spring,  so  ar- 
ranged as  to  be  held  under  compression  by  the 
air  in  the  pipe,  and  brought  into  action  when  the 
ail'  escaped.  The  next  improvement  involved  the 
necessity  of  a  reservoir  auxiliary  to  the  engine 
for  storing  the  power  on  each  car;  the  next  was 
to  provide  a  way  by  which  the  stored  pressure  in 
the  reservoir  might  be  automatically  admitted  to 
the  brake  cylinder  whenever  the  pressure  in  the 
train  pipe  escaped.  These  improvements  were 
covered  by  a  patent  issued  in  1872. 

The  device  employed  is  known  as  the  "triple 
valve."  Like  nearly  all  inventions  of  a  mechan- 
ical nature,  the  first  design  was  incomplete  and 
passed  through  several  stages  before  reaching  a 
point  where  it  was  of  simple  and  practical  use. 
The  valve  in  question,  which  is  of  a  complicated 
nature,  is  located,  in  conjunction  with  the  auxil- 
iary reservoir  and  brake  cylinder,  beneath  the 
car.  Upon  the  reduction  of  the  pressure  in  the 
train  pipe  (through  which  the  compressed  air  is 
supplied  to  the  auxiliary  reservoirs  from  the  en- 
gine) this  valve  allows  the  compressed  air  in  each 


308  RAILWAY   EQUIPMENT. 

auxiliary  reservoir  to  pass  into  the  brake  cylinder, 
thus  applying  the  brakes.  Upon  the  pressure  in 
the  train  pipe  being  restored  the  valve  allows  the 
air  in  the  brake  cylinder  to  escape  to  the  atmos- 
phere, thus  releasing  the  brake,  and  opens  the 
ports  for  the  passage  of  air  from  the  train  pipe 
to  the  auxiliary  reservoir,  recharging  the  latter.^ 
The  perfection  of  the  hose  coupling  between 
the  cars  also  plays  an  important  part  in  the 
development  of  the  stored-air  brake.  A  satisfac- 
tory automatic  coupler  is  a  desideratum  of  the 
greatest  importance. 


Vacuum  Brake  Coupling. 

An  air  pump  was  patented  in  1870.  An  objec- 
tion to  it  was  its  complicated  valve  motion.  One 
difficulty  was  in  keeping  the  square  piston  rod 
properly  packed  in  order  to  prevent  friction  and 
wear.  Many  of  the  changes  in  devices  had  rela- 
tion to  the  reversing  valve  mechanism,  but  up  to 
the  year  1875  no  satisfactory  result  had  been 
accomplished.  First,  a  horizontal  rotary  valve 
was  used,  then  a  double  poppet  valve,  then  a  ver- 
tical rotary  valve,  and,  finally,  a  simple  slide 
valve,  the  latter  proving  by  far  the  most  effective. 

Many  of  the  objects  sought  as  necessary  were 
finally  covered  by  the  pump  of  1875. 

After  the  introduction  of  the  automatic  brake  it 
was  discovered  that  to  secure  satisfactory  results 


THE  AIR  BRAKE.  309 

some  plan  for  maintaining  a  uniform  pressure 
of  air  without  attention  from  the  engineer  was 
needed.  The  outgrowth  of  this  was  the  pump 
governor,  which  automatically  closes  the  steam 
pipe  leading  to  the  pump  when  the  desired  maxi- 
mum air  pressure  is  attained,  opening  it  again 
when  the  pressure  has  been  reduced. 

Thus  we  see,  in  connection  with  the  brake, 
every  requirement  substantially  met  as  it  arises. 

The  first  form  of  engineer's  brake  valve  used 
in  connection  w4th  an  air  brake  was  composed  of 


^CLE  C0(^  ^ZIS'COq^ 


Air-Brake  Hose  Coupling. 

three  openings  controlled  by  a  conical  shaped 
rotary  plug.  The  general  principle  by  which  this 
valve  worked  is  retained  in  the  engineer's  valve 
of  later  designs.  The  engineer's  valve,  manipu- 
lated by  the  engineer,  opens  communication  be- 
tween the  main  reservoir  and  the  train  pipe,  to 
charge  cars  or  release  brakes,  closing  the  connec- 
tion and  opening  the  train  pipe  to  the  atmos- 
phere when  the  brakes  are  to  be  applied.  The 
equalizing  discharge  feature  of  this  valve  is  a 
device  brought  out  prominently  in  1886,  being 
made  necessary  by  the  application  of  automatic 


310  RAILWAY    EQUIPMENT. 

brakes  to  long  trains  of  cars.  This  device  auto- 
matically regulates  the  discharge  of  the  air  from 
the  train  pipe  in  setting  the  brakes,  and  also 
gradually  closes  the  exhaust  opening,  thereby 
equalizing  the  pressure  remaining  in  the  train 
pipe,  thus  overcoming  the  difficulty  experienced 
with  the  earliest  forms  of  valves  arising  from  the 
sudden  opening  and  closing  of  the  exhaust  open- 
ing, which  produced  a  violent  recoil  of  the  air  in 
the  train  pipe,  thus  releasing  some  of  the  brakes 
on  the  forward  cars. 

An  important  feature  in  connection  with  the 
subject  is  what  is  known  as  the  quick-action 
brake.  While  the  plain  automatic  brake  answers, 
in  a  measure,  on  short  trains,  it  does  not  answer 
the  purpose  on  freight  or  other  long  trains.  The 
head  brakes  being  set  some  time  before  those  in 
the  rear  are  affected,  a  severe  shock  occurs  to  the 
rear  cars  of  the  train.  A  remedy  for  this  was  a 
device  with  a  local  vent  for  quickening  the  dis- 
charge from  the  long  pipe.  The ''automatic  re- 
lief valve"  and  the  "cut-off  and  relief  valve '^  are 
also  inventions  designed  to  hasten  the  applica- 
tion of  the  ])rake. 

In  the  evolution'' of  railway  traffic  the  tendency 
to  increase  the  speed  of  trains  developed  a  de- 
mand for  a  brake  of  greater  efficiency  than  was 
afforded  by  the  common  quick-action  brake. 
This  demand  was  sought  to  be  met  by  what  is 
known  as  the  "high-speed"  brake.  It  is  practi- 
cally the  quick-action  brake  under  a  very  high 
pressure.     It  stops  the  train  in  about  two-thirds 


THE  AIR  BRAKE.  311 

the  ordinary  distance:  thus,  a  train  moving  at 
the  rate  of  sixty  miles  an  hour  that  would  other- 
wise make  a  stop  in  sixteen  hundred  feet,  wdll  b*e 
brought  to  a  stand,  say,  in  about  eleven  hundred 
feet. 

As  the  distant  signals  of  any  block  system 
must  be  placed  far  enough  from  the  home  signals 
to  permit  of  the  train  being  stopped,  it  is  appar- 
ent that  the  former  would  have  to  be  moved 
farther  away  with  the  increase  of  speed  of  trains, 
except  for  the  high-speed  brake. 

Before  describing  this  improvement,  it  will  be 
well  to  state  the  theory  of  resistance  upon  which 
it  is  based.  It  is  known  that  a  brake  shoe  that 
presses  against  the  wheel  sufficiently  to  cause 
the  wheel  to  slide  at  a  low  rate  of  speed  will  not 
do  so  at  a  high  rate  of  speed.  Technically,  the 
co-efRcient  of  friction  increases  with  the  reduc- 
tion of  the  velocity  of  the  surfaces  in  contact. 

The  quick-action  brake,  under  the  emergency 
application,  causes  the  shoe  to  press  against  the 
wheel  with  a  force  equal  to  ninety  per  cent,  of 
the  pressure  of  the  wheel  upon  the  rail.  This  is 
as  high  a  percentage  of  braking  power  as  is 
practicable  without  sliding  the  wheel  at  a  slow 
speed.  The  "high-speed"  brake,  however,  nearly 
doubles  this  braking  power  when  first  applied 
and  then  automatically  reduces  it  as  the  speed  of 
the  train  is  reduced.  This  form  of  brake  origin- 
ally contemplated,  on  each  car,  an  additional 
valve  and  cylinder,  which  were  made  operative  by 
a  greater  reduction  of  pressure  than  the  engineer 


312  RAILWAY   EQUIPMENT. 

should  use  except  in  cases  of  emergency.  The 
piston  of  this  extra  cylinder  produced  additional 
force  upon  the  ordinary  levers  after  the  regular 
cylinder  had  acted.  As  the  speed  of  the  train 
was  reduced,  it  rested  with  the  engineer  to 
gradually  release  the  pressure  from  the  addi- 
tional cylinder.  Two  objections  to  this  form  or 
device  were,  first,  that  the  engineer  might  use 
the  "re-inforce"  cylinder  when  not  intending  to 
do  so,  by  the  use,  inadvertently,  of  too  much  air, 
thus  sliding  the  wheels  and  running  by  the  stop- 
ping point  as  well;  and,  second,  in  case  of  im- 
pending danger,  say,  ahead,  if  the  engineer  should 
leave  his  post,  the  brake  would  not  automatically 
regulate  itself,  but  would  either  lose  its  ''re- 
inforce "  power  immediately  or  else  lock  all  the 
wheels  as  the  speed  reduced  and,  by  sliding  the 
whole  train,  precipitate  it  into  the  danger  it  was 
sought  to  avoid.  The  especial  advantage  it 
afforded  was  that  on  a  loaded  freight  car  the 
"re-inforce"  valve  could  be  ''cut  in"  and  on  an 
empty  car  "  cut  out,"  and  thus  regulate  the  hold- 
ing power  of  loaded  and  empty  cars  respectively, 
to  a  much  greater  extent  than  is  otherwise  done. 

The  high-speed  brake,  a  modification  of  the 
re-inforce  brake,  consists  of  an  automatic  gradu- 
ated relief  valve  screwed  into  the  brake  cylinder, 
and  also  the  increasing  of  the  standard  train  line 
air  pressure  is  increased  to  nearly  double  the  nor- 
mal quantity. 

The  relief  valve  referred  to  is  set  at  sixty 
pounds  pressure,  and  in  the  ordinary  use  of  the 


THE  AIR  BRAKE.  313 

brake  allows  all  air  above  this  amount  to  escape 
to  the  atmosphere;  but  when  it  is  applied  in  an 
emergency,  the  cylinder  receives  the  extra  pres- 
sure so  quickly  that  the  relief  valve  is  forced  to 
its  extreme  position,  thereby  opening  a  smaller 
escape  which  increases  in  size  as  the  speed  dimin- 
inishes  and  finally  closes  when  but  sixty  pounds 
remains  in  the  cylinder.  (See  Fig.  on  page  384.) 

This  brake  has  been  in  use  on  many  fast  trains 
and  has  demonstrated  its  advantages  and  put  to 
rest  the  fear  at  first  expressed  that  sliding  of 
wheels  would  ensue  upon  it§  use.  It  has  other 
advantages  over  the  ordinary  quick-action  brake, 
in  this,  that  the  cylinder  pressure  is  limited  to 
sixty  pounds  without  reference  to  the  adjustment 
of  the  brake  piston  and  that  several  service 
applications  can  be  made  with  equal  effect  with- 
out re-charging.  As  the  use  of  sand  upon  the 
rails  is  essential  to  the  attainment  of  the  best 
results  with  this  brake,  it  is  desirable  that  loco- 
motives should  be  equipped  with  automatic  air 
sanding  appliances  which  sand  the  rail  when  the 
handle  of  the  engineer's  valve  is  put  in  the 
emergency  position.  Some  engines  that  alternate 
the  handling  of  this  brake  with  the  standard 
brake  have  double  governors  and  feed-valves  for 
regulating  to  either  the  high  or  standard  pres- 
sure, according  to  the  equipment  of  the  train. 

In  concluding  the  foregoing  brief  resume  of  the 
"  Evolution  of  the  railway  brake,"  it  may  be  said 
that  at  first  but  one  wheel  of  a  vehicle  had  a 
brake;  later,  both  pairs  of  wheels  composing  the 


314  RAILWAY  EQUIPMENT, 

truck  to  one  end  of  a  car  were  braked ;  still  later, 
when  six- wheel  trucks  were  required  for  heavy 
equipment,  only  the  two  outside  pairs  of  wheels 
on  each  truck  had  brakes;  later  still,  every  pair 
of  wheels  under  a  passenger  car  was  supplied 
with  a  pressure  upon  their  brake  shoes  equal  to 
ninety  per  cent,  of  the  weight  of  the  wheels  upon 
the  rail.  A  still  greater  change  is  noticeable  on 
locomotives.  While  it  was  at  one  time  question- 
able as  to  the  advisability  of  applying  a  brake  to 
locomotive  driving  wheels,  afterward  it  was  made 
a  requirement  by  law  in  America  to  equip  engines 
and  tenders  as  well  as  cars  with  power  brakes. 
This  renders  every  car  and  engine  so  nearly  equal 
in  stopping  power  that  the  greatest  safety  is  had, 
and  the  minor  jerking  occasioned  by  the  un- 
equal braking  power  of  the  different  vehicles  is 
avoided. 


HOW    TO    USE    THE    AIR    BRAKE. 

The  complicated  machinery  the  use  of  air 
necessitates  requires  to  be  so  constructed,  main- 
tained and  handled  that  when  in  use  it  will,  in 
every  case,  stop  the  train  within  the  distance  it 
is  expected  to.  In  furtherance  of  this,  those  who 
have  manufactured  the  brake  and,  again,  those 
who  have  handled  it,  have  instituted  carefully 
prepared  rules  and  regulations  governing  the  use 
of  the  brake.  They  are  thus  not  the  product  of 
any  man  or  time,  but  cumulative  in  their  growth. 
I  have  carefully  consulted  these  authorities  in 


THE  AIR  BRAKE.  315 

preparing  the  accompanying  regulations,  not 
attempting  to  do  more  myself  than  to  make 
changes  in  phraseology  and  supply  omissions. 
The  rules  and  regulations  thus  compiled  may  be 
stated  generally  and  specifically  as  follows: 

GENERAL  INSTRUCTIONS  TO  ENGINEMEN. 

The  engineer,  when  assuming  charge  of  his 
locomotive,  should  see  that  the  air  brake  appa- 
ratus, on  both  the  locomotive  and  tender,  is  in 
good  order:  thus,  that  the  air  pump  and  lubrica- 
tor work  properly;  that  the  pump  governor  stops 
the  pump  when  the  desired  maximum  pressure 
is  reached,  and  starts  it  again  when  pressure 
is  reduced;*  that  the  engineer's  brake  valve 
works  properly  in  all  the  different  positions  of 
the  handle;  that  both  pointers  of  the  air  gauge 
indicate  the  same  amount  of  pressure  when  the 
handle  is  placed  in  full  release  position;  that 
w^hen  the  brakes  are  fully  applied,  the  driver 
brake  pistons  do  not  travel  less  than  one-fourth 
nor  more  than  one-half  of  their  stroke;  and, 
finally,  that  the  engine  truck  and  tender  brake 
pistons  travel  between  one-half  and  three-fourths 
of  their  cylinder  length.  Moreover,  the  reservoirs 
and  drain  cups  should  be  drained  of  all  water  by 
opening  their  drip  cocks.  The  train  pipe  should 
also  be  blown  out  through  the  rear  hose,  with  the 
brake  valve  handle  in  full  release  (position  one), 
to  be  sure  that  there  is  no  obstruction  of  dirt  or 
other  substance. 


*It  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  with  the  different  types  on 
engineers'  valves,  the  pump  governor  regulates  different  x^ress- 
ures. 


316 


RAIL  WA  r   EQ  UIP2IEXT. 


Engineer's  Brake  and  Equalizing  Discharge  Valve  and  Duplex  Air  Gauge, 
known  as  the  D  8  or  1889  Valve. 


/ 


THE  A IR  B  RA  KE.  3  ]  7 

Engineers  should  also  report  to  the  roundhouse 
foreman,  or  other  authorized  official,  at  the  end 
of  each  run,  any  defect  the}'  niay  have  detected 
in  the  air-brake  apparatus. 

On  Making  Up  Trains  and  Testing  Brakes. — 
There  should  be  seventy  pounds  train  pipe  press- 
ure on  the  engine  before  connecting  to  the  train, 
with  the  handle  of  the  engineer's  valve  standing 
in  position  two.  When  the  locomotive  has  been 
coupled  to  the  train  and  the  latter  has  been 
charged  with  an  air  pressure  of  seventy  pounds, 
the  engineer  should,  on  a  signal  from  the  proper 
person,  apply  the  brakes  fully  and  leave  them 
thus  until  the  brakes  on  the  entire  train  have 
been  inspected,  after  which,  upon  signal,  the 
brakes  should  be  released;  but  the  engineer  will 
not  leave  the  station  until  all  the  brakes  are 
released  and  he  has  been  advised  by  the  proper 
person  that  they  operate  all  right.  These  tests 
should  be  made  after  each  change  in  the  makeup 
of  a  train,  also  before  starting  down  such  grades 
as  may  be  particularly  designated.  In  passenger 
trains,  when  the  train  air  signal  is  used,  the  sig- 
nal to  set  the  brakes  in  testing  should  be 
given  from  the  rear  car  of  the  train,  to  show 
that  the  signal  connections  are  properly  made. 
The  engineer  sets  the  brake  as  answer  that  the 
air  signal  works  properly. 

Application  of  the  Air  Brake  in  Service. — In 
applying  the  brakes  to  steady  the  train  upon  a 
descending  grade,  or  to  reduce  the  speed  for  any 
purpose,  care  should  be  taken  not  to  make  too 


318  RAILWAY   EQUTPMEXT. 

great  a  reduction  of  pressure  at  first,  as  the 
s]3eed  of  the  train  would  be  too  quickh^  checked 
and,  also,  to  a  greater  degree  than  desired,  thus 
necessitating  a  release  of  the  brakes  and  their 
application  again,  perhaps  even  requiring  a  repe- 
tition of  the  operation. 

The  brake  should  be  applied  lighth'  at  a  suffi- 
cient distance  from  the  stopping  point,  increasing 
the  force  gradually,,  as  it  maj^  be  found  necessary, 
so  as  to  make  the  stop  with  one  application  of 
the  brake,  or  at  most  two. 

In  the  case  of  freight  trains  which  are  only 
partially  equipped  with  the  air  brake,  after  shut- 
ting off,  the  slack  of  the  train  should  first  be 
allowed  to  take  up;  the  brakes  should  then  be 
applied  with  a  reduction  not  to  exceed  six  to 
eight  pounds,  and  with  such  further  reductions 
thereafter  as  may  be  necessary.  This  will  pre- 
vent shocks  to  the  train  which  otherwise  might 
be  serious. 

In  making  a  regular  stop  in  the  case  of  a  pas- 
senger train,  the  brakes  should  (except  on  heavy 
grades)  be  released  a  short  distance  before  com- 
ing to  a  standstill,  so  as  to  prevent  a  shock  at 
the  instant  of  stopping.  On  a  moderate  grade 
it  is  best  to  do  this  and  then  after  releasing 
apply  the  brakes  again  lightly,  in  order  to  pre- 
vent the  train  starting  of  its  own  volition  and 
that  when  it  is  ready  to  start  the  release  will 
take  place  immediately.  In  the  case  of  freight 
trains  the  brakes  should  not  be  released  until 
the  train  has  come  to  a  full  stop. 


THE  AIR  BRAKE.  319 

Application  of  the  Brake  in  Emergency. — The 
emergency  application  of  the  brake  should  never 
be  used  except  when  an  emergency  exists,  and 
then  the  brake  valve  should  be  thrown  to  the 
emergency  position,  number  five,  no  matter 
where  it  may  have  been  before. 

When  Brakes  are  Applied  from  an  Unknoivn 
Cause. — If  at  any  time  it  is  found  that  the  train 
is  dragging  without  a  rapid  fall  of  the  black 
pointer  indicating  the  fact,  the  handle  of  the 
engineer's  valve  should  be  moved  into  the  full 
release  position  for  an  instant  and  then  returned 
to  the  running  position. 

If,  however,  the  brakes  are  applied  suddenly 
with  a  fall  of  the  black  pointer,  it  is  evident 
that  a  conductor's  valve  has  been  opened,  or 
that  a  hose  has  burst  or  a  serious  leak  oc- 
curred, or  that  the  train  has  parted.  In  such 
event  the  handle  of  the  engineer's  valve  should 
be  immediately  placed  in  position  three,  to  pre- 
vent escape  of  air  from  the  main  reservoir. 
It  should  be  left  there  until  the  train  has  been 
stopped  and  the  brake  apparatus  examined  and 
a  signal  to  release  given.  If  a  hose  or  pipe 
has  burst,  it  may  be  necessary  for  the  engineer 
to  place  his  handle  in  position  two  (running 
position),  that  the  trainmen  may  detect  the 
escape  of  air  from  the  hose  or  pipe  while  search- 
ing for  it. 

Braking  hy  Hand. — The  air  brake  should  never 
be  used  by  the  engineer  when  it  is  known 
that  the  trainmen  are  operating  the   brakes  of 


320 


RA IL  WA  Y   EQ  UIPMENT. 


air-brake  cars  by  hand,  as  there  is  danger  of  in- 
jury to  the  trainmen  by  so  doing. 

Cutting  Out  Brakes. — The  brakes  on  the  driv- 
ers and  tender  should,  unless  defective,  always 
be  used  automatically  at  every  application  of  the 
train  brake,  except  upon  grades  that  may  be  par- 
ticularly designated. 

When  necessary  to  cut  out  either  the  driver  or 
the  tender  brake  because  of  any  defect,  it  should 
be  done  by  turning  the  handle  of  the  four-way 
cock,  in  the  triple  valve,  down  to  a  position  mid- 
way between  horizontal  and  vertical,  leaving  the 
bleed  cock  open. 

Double  Header's, — When  two  or  more  engines 
are  coupled  in  the  same  train,  the  brakes  must 
be  connected  to,  and   operated  from,  the   head 

engine.  For  this  pur- 
pose a  cock  is  placed 
in  the  train  pipe  just 
below  the  engineer's 
^%i;.  mi^i^^  valve.  The  engineer 
^^^.  of  each  engine,  save 

oJ    m-    '^BB^-><i^  the  head  one,  should 

S  l^^^iililHw^^^  close  this  cock  and 

^   ^'wiiiiiiiP  place  the  handle  of 

ui     r"   Till  I    MlWli  • 

w   yEiiS^        the  engineer's  valve  in  posi- 

<    ^^^^^m        tion  two.     Then  he  will  start 

his  air  pump  and  let  it  run  as 

though  he  were  intending  to 

use  the  brake.     This  is  for  the 

Angle  Cock,  opeu.  p  .... 

purpose  or  maintaining  air 
pressure    on   nis   engine   and    enabling   him  to 


THE  AIR  BRAKE. 


321 


assume  charge  of  the  train  brakes  should  occa- 
sion require  it. 

Extra  Hose. — An  extra  air-brake  hose  and  ^-ou- 
pling  should  be  carried  on  each  engine  in  order  to 
make  repairs  in  case  hose  bursts.  Upon  engines 
having  the  air  signal,  an  extra  signal  hose  and 
coupling  should  also  be  carried  for  like  purpose.* 

Sliding  Wheels. — To  avoid  the  sliding  of  wheels 
(and  consequent  loss  of  two-thirds  of  the  retard- 
ing force,  and  the  damage  to  the  wheels  as  well), 
engineers  should  use  sand  freeh-  when  the  condi- 
tion of  the  rail  is  doubtful.  The  sand  should  be 
applied  to  the  rail  l^efore  the  brake  is  operated, 
and  should  be  shut  off  only  after  the  brake  has 
been  released. 


GENERAL    INSTRUCTIONS    TO    TRAINMEN. 

Making  Up  Trains  and  Testing  Brakes. — When 
an  engine  has  been  coupled  to  a  train,  or  when 
two  sections  have  been  brought  together,  the 
brake  couplings  should  be  united.     The  cocks  in 

the   train    pipes 

should   then    all 

be   open,  except 

at  the  rear  end  of 

the  last  car.  This 

should  be  closed 

and   the   hose 

properly    hung 

up  in  the  dummy  coupling. 

After  the  engineer  has  fully 

Angle  Cock,  closed.        chargcd  the  train  with  air 

21    Vol.  1 


*Some  railroads  carry  all    extra    hose    in   the  baggage  or 
caboose  cars. 


322 


RA IL  ^YA  Y   EQ  UIPMEXT. 


he  will  then  be  signaled  to  apply  the  brakes. 
When  the  train  air  signal  is  to  be  used,  the  signal 
to  the  engineer  to  apply  the  brakes  should  be 
given  by  means  of  the  air  signal  from  the  rear 
car  of  the  train.  When  he  has  done  this,  the 
brakes  of  each  car  will  be  examined  to  see  if  they 
are  properly  applied.  When  this  is  ascertained 
to  be  so,  the  engineer  will  be  signaled  to  release 
the  brakes.  The  brakes  of  each  car  should  then 
be  examined  to  see  that  each  is  released.  The 
longer  the  brakes  can  be  left  applied,  it  should 
be  remembered,  the  more  thorough  will  be  the 
test  of  their  stopping  power. 

If  any  defect  is  discovered,  it  should  be  reme- 
died and  the  brakes  applied  again,  the  operation 

being    re- 
peated until 
everything  is 
righted.     In 
the  event 
any  cars  are  cut  out 
or  defects  found,  the 
conductor  and   engi- 
neer should  be  noti- 
fied*as  to  the   condi- 
tion of  the  brakes,  the 
number  of  cars  work- 
ing,  and   those   that 
are  cut  out  because 
of  defects.     An    ex- 
amination should  be 
The  Plain  Straightway  Cock.  made  every  time  any 


THE  AIR  BRAKE.  323 

change  is  made  in  the  makeup  of  a  train,  also 
before  starting  clown  such  grades  as  maj-  be  par- 
ticularly designated.  At  points  where  there  are 
no  inspectors,  trainmen  will  carry  out  these 
instructions. 

A  passenger  train  should  never  start  from  an 
inspection  point  with  the  brakes  upon  any  car 
cut  out  or  in  a  defective  condition  without  orders 
from  the  proper  official. 

Use  of  Hand  Brakes. — The  air  brakes  on  a 
freight  train  should  not  be  wholly  relied  upon 
to  control  the  train  if  there  is  a  smaller 
proportion  of  cars  wdth  the  air  brake  in  ser- 
vice than  the  regulations  of  the  company 
specify.  When  hand  brakes  are  also  used,  they 
should  be  applied  upon  the  cars  next  behind 
the  cars  with  air  brakes,  except  when  backing 
up,  in  which  case  the  braking  should,  in  the 
main,  be  done  by  hand  brakes  at  the  rear  of  the 
train. 

Detaching  Engine  or  Cars. — When  the  engine 
or  a  car  is  detached,  the  cocks  in  the  train  pipes  at 
the  point  of  separation  should  first  be  closed,  the 
one  nearer  the  engine  last.  The  couplings  should 
then  be  parted  by  hand.  If  the  brakes  have  been 
applied,  the  cocks  should  not  be  closed  until  the 
engineer  has  released  the  brakes  upon  the  whole 
train. 

Frozen  CoujjHngs. — If  the  couplings  should  at 
any  time  be  found  to  be  frozen  together  or  cov- 
ered with  ice,  the  ice  should  first  be  removed 
and  the  couplings  then  thawed  out  by  a  torch  or 


324  RAIL^yAY  EQUIPMENT. 

b}^  dipping  into  a  pail  of  hot  water,  so  as  to  pre- 
vent injury  to  the  gaskets. 

Brakes  Sticking.  —  If  the  brakes  should  be 
found  sticking,  the  engineer  should  be  signaled 
to  release  them.  If  he  cannot  do  so  and  calls 
for  release,  or  if  brakes  are  applied  to  detached 
cars,  the  release  may  be  effected  by  opening  the 
small  cock  in  the  auxiliary  reservoir  until  the  air 
begins  to  release  through  the  triple  valve,  when 
the  reservoir  cock  should  immediately  be  closed. 

Traill  Breaking  Into  Tivo  or  More  Parts. — The 
cock  in  the  train  pipe  at  the  rear  of  the  first 
section  should  first  be  closed  and  the  engineer 
signaled  to  release  the  brakes.  After  having 
coupled  to  the  second  section  the  rule  for  making 
up  trains  should  be  observed,  first  being  sure 
that  the  cock  in  the  train  pipe  at  the  rear  of  the 
second  section  has  been  closed  in  case  the  train 
has  broken  into  more  than  two  sections.  When 
the  engineer  has  released  the  brakes  on  the  sec- 
ond section,  the  same  method  should  be  employed 
with  reference  to  the  third  section,  and  so  on. 
When  the  train  has  been  re-united,  the  brakes 
should  be  inspected  on  each  car,  to  see  that  all 
are  released  before  proceeding. 

Cutting  Out  the  Brake  on  a  Car. — If,  through 
any  defect  of  the  brake  apparatus  while  on  the 
road,  it  becomes  necessary  to  cut  out  the  brake 
upon  any  car,  it  may  be  done  by  closing  the  cock 
in  the  cross-over  pipe  near  the  center  of  the  car 
when  the  quick-action  brake  is  used,  or  by  turn- 
ing the  handle  of  the  cock  in  the  triple  valve  to 


THE  AIR  BRAKE. 


325 


a  position  midway  between  horizontal  and  verti- 
cal when  the  plain  automatic  brake  is  used. 
When  the  brake  on  a  car  has  been  thus  cut  out, 
the  cock  in  the  auxiliary  reservoir  should  be 
opened  and  left  open  upon  passenger  cars,  or 
held  open  until  all  the  air  has  escaped  from  the 
reservoir  upon  freight  cars.    The  brake  upon  any 


The  Plain  Automatic  Triple  Valve. 

car  should  never  be  cut  out  unless  the  apparatus 
is  defective,  and  when  it  is  necessary  to  do  so, 
the  conductor  should  notify  the  engineer  and 
also  send  in  a  report  to  the  proper  official,  stating 
the  reason  for  so  doing.  Some  form  of  notice- 
able defect  tag  tied  to  the  defective  part  is  very 
effective.     This  tag  should  give  the  car  number, 


326  RAILWAY  EQUIPMENT. 

initials,  state  the  defect,  and  be  signed  by  the 
conductor,  giving  the  date. 

Conductor's  Valve. —  Should  it  become  neces- 
sary to  apply  the  brakes  from  the  train,  it  may 
be  done  by  opening  the  conductor's  valve,  which 
is  placed  in  each  passenger  equipment  car.  The 
valve  should  be  held  open  until  the  train  comes 
to  a  full  stop,  and  then  closed.  This  method  of 
stopping  the  train  should  not  be  used  except  in 
case  of  emergency. 

Blast  Hose. — In  the  event  a  brake  hose  should 
burst,  it  should  be  replaced  and  the  brakes  tested 
before  proceeding,  provided  the  train  is  in  a  safe 
place.  If  it  is  not,  the  train  pipe  cock  imme- 
diately in  front  of  the  burst  hose  should  be  closed 
and  the  engineer  signaled  to  release  the  brakes. 
All  the  brakes  to  the  rear  of  the  burst  hose 
should  then  be  released  by  hand  and  the  train 
moved  to  a  safe  place,  where  the  burst  hose 
should  be  replaced,  the  brakes  connected  and 
tested  as  in  making  up  a  train. 

Call  for  Brakes.— When  the  engineer  calls  for 
brakes,  the  conductor's  valve  or  rear  angle-cock 
(if  convenient)  should  be  opened  first.  Each 
trainman  should  then  set  the  brakes  nearest  to 
him,  whether  the  air  brake  is  applied  on  the  car 
or  not. 

Brakes  not  in  Use.— When  the  air  brakes  are 
not  in  use,  either  upon  the  road  or  in  switch- 
ing, the  hose  should  be  kept  coupled  between 
the  cars  or  hung  up  properly  in  the  dummy 
couplings. 


THE  AIR  BRAKE. 


327 


RETAINING  PRES^UflE 


The  Pres- 
sure Retain 
ing  Valve. 


Pressure  Retaining  Valve. — In  descending  long 
grades,  owing  to  repeated  applications  of  the 
brakes,  the  stored  pressure  maj^  become  so  re- 
reduced  as  to  make  it  necessary  to  re- 
charge the  auxiliary  reservoirs.  This 
th*e  engineer  cannot  do  without  releas- 
ing the  brakes,  but  the  retaining  valve 
is  designed  so  that  the  train- 
men may  hold  a  pressure  of 
fifteen  pounds  in  each  brake 
cylinder  while  the  engineer  is  re-charg- 
ing the  reservoirs.  This  valve  is  con- 
veniently located  up  near  the  hand 
brake  in  a  position  accessible  on  a 
moving  train.  A  pipe  from  the  bot- 
tom of  the  retaining  valve  connects  it 
with  the  triple  valve  exhaust.  When  it  is  desired 
to  retain  fifteen  pounds  pressure  in  the  cylinder, 
the  handle  of  the  retaining  valve  is  changed  from 
position  one  to  position  two  before  the  brake  is 
released  by  the  engineer.  At  the  foot  of  the 
grade  the  handles  should  all  be  turned  downward 
again  to  position  one.  Special  instructions  are 
issued  as  to  the  grades  upon  which  these  valves 
are  to  be  used. 

Reporting  Defects  to  Inspectors. — Any  defect 
in  the  air  brake  apparatus  discovered  upon  the 
road  should  be  tagged  and  reported  to  the  in- 
spector at  the  end  of  the  run;  or,  if  the  defect  be 
a  serious  one  in  passenger  service,  it  should  be 
reported  to  the  nearest  inspector  and  remedied 
before  the  car  is  again  placed  in  service. 


328  RAILWAY    EQUIPMENT. 

Extra  Hose. — Each  conductor  should  keej)  two 
extra  air-brake  hose  on  hand.  Passenger  crews 
should  also  have  extra  air-signal  hose.  To  in- 
sure this,  inspectors  are  authorized  to  exchange 
new  hose  for  old  defective  hose  whenever  pre- 
sented. • 

GENERAL   INSTRUCTIONS    TO   ENGINE-HOUSE    FOREMEN 
AND    INSPECTORS. 

It  is  the  duty  of  engine-house  foremen  to  see 
that  the  air-brake  equipment  upon  each  engine 
is  properl}^  inspected  after  each  run.  It  should 
be  ascertained  that  all  pipe  joints,  connections, 
and  all  other  parts  of  the  apparatus  are  air  tight, 
and  that  the  apparatus  is  in  good  working  order. 
Air  pipes  in  the  engine  house  which  may  be 
coupled  to  the  rear  of  the  engine  are  very  con- 
venient for  this  inspection,  as  engines  are  not 
always  under  their  own  steam  wlien  desired. 

Aw  Pump. — The  air  pump  should  be  tested 
under  pressure  and,  if  found  to  be  working  im- 
perfectly in  any  respect,  should  be  put  into  thor- 
oughly serviceable  condition. 

Pump  Governor. — The  pump  governor  should 
cut  off  the  steam  supply  to  the  pump  when  the 
desired  maximum  pressure  has  been  reached. 
In  the  event  it  does  not,  it  should  be  regulated  to 
do  so. 

Engineer's  Brake  Valve. — This  valve  should  be 
kept  clean  and  in  perfect  order.  It  should  be 
tested  with  the  handle  in  positions  four  and  three 
to    see     that    the    equalizing    piston    responds 


THE  AIR  BRAKE.  329 

promptly  and  that  there  are  no  leaks  from  port 
to  port  under  the  rotary  disc  valve. 

Adjustment  of  Br o ices. — The  driver  brakes 
should  be  adjusted  so  that  the  pistons  will  travel 
not  less  than  one-fourth  nor  more  than  one-half 
of  their  stroke.  When  the  cam  brake* is  used, 
care  should  be  taken  to  adjust  both  cams  alike 
in  order  that  the  point  of  contact  of  the  cam 
should  be  in  line  with  the  piston  rod.  The  ten- 
der brake  must  be  adjusted  by  means  of  the  dead 
truck  levers,  so  the  piston  will  travel  not  less 
than  five  nor  more  than  six  inches  when  the  air 
brake  is  applied  and  the  hand  brake  released. 
This  adjustment  should  be  made  whenever  the 
piston  travel  is  found  to  exceed  eight  inches. 
The  engine-truck  brake  should  have  a  piston 
travel  of  not  less  than  one-half  nor  more  than 
three-fourths  of  the  length  of  its  cylinder,  and 
must  be  adjusted  alike  on  both  sides. 

Brake  Cylinders  and  Triple  Valves. — The  brake 
cylinders  and  triple  valves  should  be  examined 
and  cleaned  once  every  six  months  and  the  cylin- 
ders oiled  once  in  three  months.  If  the  driver 
brake  cylinders  are  in  a  position  to  be  affected 
by  the  heat  of  the  boiler,  they  must  be  oiled 
more  frequently  and  the  pistons  given  a  one- 
half  turn.  Record  should  be  kept  of  the  date  of 
each  cleaning  and  oiling. 

Draining. — The  main  reservoir  and  also  the 
drain  cup  in  the  train  pipe  under  the  tender 
should,  after  each  trip,  be  drained  of  any  ac- 
cumulation.    The  auxiliary  reservoirs  and  triple 

*See  illustration  on  page  539. 


330  RAILWAY   EQUIPMENT. 

valve  should  also  be  drained  frequently,  dailj^  in 
cold  v^eather,  and  the  train  pipe  under  the  ten- 
der blown  out. 

GENERAL   INSTRUCTIONS    TO    CAR    INSPECTORS. 

It  is  the  duty  of  all  inspectors  to  see  that  the 
couplings,  pipe  joints,  conductor's  valves,  and  all 
other  parts  of  the  brake  apparatus  are  in  good 
order  and  free  from  leaks.  For  this  purpose 
they  should  be  tested  under  a  full  air  pressure  of 
seventy  pounds  and  all  defects  remedied.  No 
passenger  train  should  be  allowed  ta  leave  a  ter- 
minal station  with  the  brake  upon  any  car  cut 
out  or  in  a  defective  condition  w^ithout  special 
orders  from  the  proper  official. 

If  a  defect  is  discovered  in  the  brake  appa- 
ratus of  a  freight  car  which  cannot  be  held  long 
enough  to  repair  such  defect,  the  brake  should  be 
cut  out  and  the  car  properly  carded,  so  as  to  call 
the  attention  of  the  next  inspector  to  the  repairs 
required. 

Making  Up  Trains  and  Testing  Brakes. — In 
making  up  a  train,  the  couplings  should  be  united 
and  the  cocks  at  the  ends  of  the  cars  opened, 
except  at  the  rear  of  the  last  car  where  the  cocks 
should  be  closed  and  the  couplings  properly  hung 
up  in  the  dummy  couplings.  After  the  train  is 
charged,  the  engineer  should  be  signaled  to  apph^ 
the  brakes,  using  the  train  air  signal  from  the 
rear  car  for  passenger  trains.  The  brakes  upon 
each  car  should  then  be  examined  to  see  that 
they   are  properly  applied.      This  having  been 


THE  AIR  BRAKE.  331 

ascertained,  the  inspector  should  signal  the  engi- 
neer to  release  the  brakes.  The  brakes  should 
again  be  examined  to  note  that  each  is  released. 
If  any  defect  is  discovered,  it  should  be  corrected 
and  the  testing  of  the  brakes  repeated  until  they 
are  found  to  work  properly  upon  each  car.  The 
inspector  should  then  inform  both  the  engineer 
and  conductor  as  to  the  actual  condition  of  the 
brakes. 

Cleaning  Cylinders  and  Triple  Valves. — The 
brake  cylinders  and  triple  valves  should  be  kept 
clean  and  free  from  gum.  For  this  purpose  they 
should  be  examined  as  often  as  once  in  six 
months  upon  passenger  cars  and  once  in  twelve 
months  upon  freight  cars.  The  cylinders  and 
triple  valves  should  be  thoroughly  cleaned  after 
removing  all  movable  parts  and  the  piston 
leathers  and  cylinders  well  coated  with  a  heavy 
oil  or  light  grease  which  is  but  little  affected 
by  changes  of  temperature  and  will  not  gum. 
The  dates  of  the  last  cleaning  and  oiling  should 
be  marked  with  paint  upon  the  cylinder  in  the 
places  provided  opposite  the  words  stenciled 
with  white  paint  in  one-inch  letters  upon  the 
cylinder,  as  follows: 

Cyl.  oiled (Date) 

T^/ple  [  Cleaned (Date) 

(Place) 

It  is  well  to  give  the  pistons  a  one-half  turn 
when  replacing  them  in  their  cylinders. 


332  RAILWAY  EQUIPMENT. 

The  triple  valves  and  auxiliary  reservoirs 
should  be  frequently  drained,  e.specially  in  cold 
weather,  by  removing  the  plug  in  the  bottom 
of  the  triple  valve  and  opening  the  small  cock  in 
the  reservoir. 

Adjustment  of  Brakes. — The  slack  of  the  brake 
shoes  should  be  taken  up  by  means  of  the  dead 
truck  levers  or  the  turn  buckles.  In  taking  up 
such  slack,  it  should  be  first  ascertained  that  the 
hand  brakes  are  off  and  the  slack  all  taken  out  of 
the  upper  connections,  so  the  live  truck  levers  do 
not  go  back  within  one  and  one-half  inches  of  the 
truck  timber  or  other  stop,  when  the  piston  of  the 
brake  cylinder  is  fully  back  at  the  release  posi- 
tion. If,  when  under  full  application,  the  brake 
piston  travel  is  found  to  exceed  eight  inches  upon 
a  passenger  car  or  nine  inches  upon  a  freight  car, 
the  slack  of  the  brake  shoe  should  be  taken  up 
and  the  adjustment  so  made  that  the  piston  shall 
travel  not  less  than  ^Ye  inches  nor  more  than  six 
inches. 

Braking  Power. — When  the  cylinder  lever  has 
more  than  one  hole  at  the  outer  end,  the  different 
holes  are  for  use  upon  cars  of  different  weights. 
It  should,  therefore,  be  carefully  ascertained  that 
the  rods  are  connected  to  the  proper  holes,  so  the 
correct  braking  power  shall  be  exerted  upon  each 
car. 

Bepair  Parts. —  Inspectors  should  keep  con- 
stantly on  hand,  for  repairs,  a  supply  of  all  parts 
of  the  brake  equipment  that  are  liable  to  get  out 
of  order. 


THE  AIR  BRAKE.  333 

Hanging  up  Hose. — Inspectors  should  see  that, 
when  cars  are  being  switched  or  are  standing  in 
the  j^ard,  the  hose  is  coupled  between  the  cars  or 
properly  secured  in  the  dummy  coupling. 

Responsihility  of  Inspectors.  —  Inspectors  are 
held  responsible  for  the  good  condition  of  all 
brake  apparatus  upon  cars  placed  in  trains  at 
their  stations.  They  should  also  make  examina- 
tions of  brake  apparatus  and  repair  the  same 
whenever  called  upon  by  the  trainmen  to  do  so. 

[Note. — It  is  proper  to  say  here  that  after  preparing  this  chapter  on  the 
air  brake,  greatly  aided  therin  by  Mr.  E.  W.  Pratt,  an  expert  in  such  matters, 
Mr.  G.  W.  Rhodes,  Superintendent  Motive  Power,  Chicago,  Burlington  & 
Quincy  Railroad,  and  Mr.  Robert  Quayle,  Superintendent  Motive  Power  and 
Machinery,  Chicago  &  North-Westeru  Railway,  both  eminent  men  in  their 
profession,  were  so  kind  as  to  examine  it  with  a  view  to  the  discovery  and 
correction  of  inaccuracies  and  omissions.  It  has  thus  passed  under  the  eye 
of  men  pre-eminently  fitted  to  judge  of  its  merits.] 


THE    MODERN   AIR   BRAKE. 

For  some  time  after  the  adoption  of  the  air 
brake  it  was  common  to  attribute  to  it  many  of 
the  train  accidents  that  occurred;  the  opinion 
prevailed  that  it  did  not  work  uniformly — that  it 
was  capricious,  that  its  action  could  not  be  accu- 
rately foretold.  It  is  now  known,  however,  that 
its  operations  under  like  conditions  are  always 
the  same. 

Doubtless  many  improvements  remain  yet  to 
be  introduced  in  connection  with  the  air  brake, 
but  it  has  become  so  important  a  factor  in  the 
operation  of  trains  as  to  be  standard,  and  every 
one  concerned  with  the  operation  of  railroads  is 
interested  in  an  account  of  its  workings.     Such 


334  RAILWAY   EQUIPMENT. 

an  exposition  it  is  designed  to  give  here,  omitting 
those  details  which  would  add  prolixity  to  the 
statement  without  tending  to  make  its  workings 
more  clearlj^  understood. 

Air  brakes  are  of  two  kinds,  viz.:  *' straight" 
and  "automatic,''  but  in  both  cases  the  power 
used  is  compressed  air.  The  air  is  compressed 
by  a  pump  on  the  locomotive,  and  is  stored  in  a 
reservoir  on  the  engine  called  the  main  reservoir. 
The  brake  is  applied  by  admitting  compressed 
air  to  a  brake  cylinder,  which,  through  the  action 
of  connecting  rods  and  levers,  pushes  out  a  pis- 
ton and  forces  the  brake  shoes  against  the  wheels. 
When  the  air  in  the  cylinder  is  allowed  to  escape, 
the  piston  is  shoved  back  by  a  spring  in  the  cyl- 
inder, and  the  brake  is  released.  On  passenger 
cars  springs  on  the  brake  beams  generally  serve 
to  release  the  brake  shoes  from  the  wheels,  but 
on  freight  cars  the  inclination  of  the  hangers,  by 
force  of  gravity,  causes  the  shoes  to  drop  away 
from  the  Avheels. 

In  the  first  or  simplest  form  of  air  brake, 
termed  "straight  air,"  now  practically  obsolete, 
the  pressure  for  applying  the  brakes  was  all 
stored  in  the  main  reservoir.  To  apply  the  brake, 
the  air  passed  through  a  valve  on  the  engine, 
called  the  engineer's  valve,  to  the  train  line  which 
was  connected  directly  to  the  brake  cylinder  of 
each  car.*  This  method  proved  unsatisfactory, 
because  if  a  breakage,  such  as  a  burst  hose  or 

*  The  train  Une  consists  of  aU  the  pipes  and  their  connec- 
tions from  the  engineer's  valve  to  the  rear  cock  of  the  last  car. 


THE  AIR  BRAKE.  335 

pipe,  occurred  in  any  portion  of  the  apparatus, 
the  compressed  air  escaped,  releasing  all  the 
brakes.  Moreover,  the  brake  could  be  applied 
only  by  the  engineer,  and,  as  the  pressure  was 
supplied  directly  from  the  main  reservoir  only, 
the  more  cars  there  were  in  the  train  the  less 
pressure  there  would  be  in  each  brake  cylinder 
when  the  brakes  were  applied. 

The  automatic  air  brake,  which  has  generally 
superseded  the  straight  air  brake  on  railroads  of 
this  country,  is  so  called  because  it  is  applied 
automatically  by  any  derangement  reducing  the 
air  pressure  in  the  train  pipe,  such  as  excessive 
leakage,  a  parted  train,  burst  hose,  and  so  on.  The 
straight  air  brake  requires  but  two  essential  parts 
on  each  car,  namely,  a  cylinder  and  train  line, 
while  the  automatic  brake  requires  two  additional 
parts — a  triple  valve  and  an  auxiliary  reservoir. 
The  purpose  of  the  triple  valve  is  to  divert  the 
air  into  its  proper  channel  and  prevent  its  escape 
from  the  auxiliary  reservoir  and  brake  cylinder 
when  the  brake  is  set.  The  purpose  of  the  auxil- 
iary reservoir  is  to  store  a  proper  volume  of  air 
on  the  car  for  supplying  the  brake  cylinder.  In 
the  application  of  the  brake  the  entire  pressure 
which  the  cylinder  receives  comes  from  the  auxil- 
iary reservoir  on  the  same  car.  Hence,  each  cylin- 
der having  its  own  auxiliary,  an  increase  in  the 
number  of  cars  in  a  train  does  not  reduce  the  brak- 
ing power,  as  we  have  seen  it  does  in  the  case  of 
straight  air.  The  capacity  of  the  auxiliary  res- 
ervoir on  each  car  should  be  about  three  times 


330  RAILWAY    EQUIPMENT. 

the  capacity  of  its  cylinder  when  the  piston  has 
a  travel  of  two-thirds  the  length  of  its  cylinder — 
or  standard  travel.  Although  locomotives  and 
cars  of  different  weights  require  different  sized 
brake  cylinders  (from  eight  to  fourteen  inches  in 
diameter),  the  auxiliary  should,  in  each  instance, 
be  proportionately  larger. 

The  essential  parts  of  the  automatic  brake 
system  are  the  air  gauge  and  pump  governor; 
air  pump  and  main  reservoir;  train  line  with  its 
hose,  couplings  and  branch  pipes;  triple  valve, 
auxiliary  reservoir  and  brake  cylinder. 

The  operation  of  the  air  through  the  automatic 
system  is,  briefly,  as  follows:  The  air  pump 
takes  air  from  the  atmosphere  and  compresses  it 
into  the  main  reservoir;  it  then  passes  through 
the  engineer's  valve  (in  release  position)  to  the 
train  line.  From  the  train  line  the  air  passes 
through  the  branch  pipe,  cut-out  cock  and  triple 
valve  of  each  car  into  its  auxiliary  reservoir. 
When  the  brakes  are  to  be  set,  a  movement  of 
the  triple  valve  allows  the  air  to  pass  from  the 
auxiliary  to  the  brake  cylinder,  applying  the 
brake.  When  the  brake  is  to  be  released,  the 
movement  of  the  triple  valve  to  its  original  posi- 
tion allows  the  air  in  the  brake  cylinder  to 
escape  to  the  atmosphere.  When  a  retaining 
pressure  valve  is  applied  to  a  car,  the  triple 
exhaust  is  piped  to  the  retainer,  which  must,  of 
course,  be  open  to  allow  the  free  escape  of  all  air 
from  the  cylinder.  The  train  pipe  under  each 
car  is  connected  by  its  branch  pipe  to  a  triple 


THE  AIR  BRAKE. 


337 


valve.  The  latter  derives  its  name  from  the  fact 
that  it  performs  the  three  operations  of  charging 
the  auxiliar}^  reservoir,  setting  the  brake  and 
releasing  it;  and,  as  each  operation  depends 
directly  upon  the  triple  valve,  it  becomes  the 
most  important  feature  of  the  automatic  brake, 


JFJG.A. 


Huxii^mR  y/?ese.rvoir 


L>5/irMER 


T/?/fw  Line. 

%  =■  fluXIU/l/fY/f£6£/fmjf 


7b  Tr/i/npipe. 


6H0W6  T&/?  /fND  C^/1  CONN£Cr£D,  /^&0ei06£P, 

and  is,  perhaps,  the  most  difficult  of  comprehen- 
sion. For  the  purpose  of  clearly  shoAving  the 
fundamental  functions  of  this  complex  mechan- 
ism. Figs.  A  and  B  are  introduced. 

It  will  be  noticed,  by  reference  to  the  above 
illustration,  that  the  triple  valve  has  four  con- 
nections: train  line  (at  T),  auxiliary  reservoir 
(at  B),  brake  cylinder  (at  C),  and  the  atmosphere 

22    Vol.  1 


338 


RAILWAY  EQUIPMENT. 


(at  A),    Communication  between  these  various 
connections  is  opened  or  closed  as  follows: 

To  release  the  brake,  communication  is  opened 
between  the  train  line  and  auxiliary  reservoir, 
closed  between  the  auxiliary  reservoir  and  the 
brake  cylinder,  and  opened  between  the  brake 


I 


r/{I.  B. 


/Ivjf/uflR  y  Fe5£/?vo//t 


S/f/rA£  Cn/ffP£/^ 


>»    >  To  T/i/f/MP/p£ 

r 


/f//i  TiG/tr 


cylinder  and  the  atmosphere.  On  the  other  hand, 
to  set  the  brake,  communication  is  closed  between 
the  train  line  and  auxiliary  reservoir,  opened  be- 
tween the  auxiliary  reservoir  and  brake  cylinder, 
and  closed  between  the  brake  cylinder  and  the 
atmosphere. 

The  triple   valve   contains  a  piston  which  by 
its  stem  moves  with  it  a  slide  valve.    Fig.  A 


THE  AIR  BRAKE.  339 

shows  the  piston  in  such  a  position  that  the 
train  line  pressure  (T)  can  pass  by  it  through 
the  feed-port  and  charge  the  auxiliary  reservoir 
(B).  Here  the  brake  cylinder  (C)  has  an  opening 
to  the  atmosphere  (A)  on  account  of  the  cavity 
under  the  slide  valve.  It  also  show^s  hov^  the 
slide  valve  prevents  the  auxiliary  (R)  pressure 
from  entering  the  brake  cylinder  (C). 

Fig.  B  shows  the  piston  of  the  triple  valve 
moved  away  from  the  feed-port,  thereby  closing 
communication  between  the  train  line  (T)  and 
the  auxiliary  {R),  the  slide  valve  has  closed  the 
opening  from  the  brake  cylinder  (C)  to  the 
atmosphere  (A)  and  has  opened  a  port  from  the 
auxiliary  (R)  to  the  brake  cylinder  (C),  admitting 
air  from  R  to  C. 

Figs.  A  and  B  show  the  triple  valve  in  its 
two  extreme  positions.  If  after  the  piston  and 
slide  valve  are  as  in  Fig.  B,  they  be  moved 
back  about  half  way  until  the  port  s  between 
the  auxiliary  {R)  and  the  cylinder  (C)  is  closed, 
whatever  pressure  had  already  passed  into  the 
cylinder  would  remain  there  and  no  more  could 
enter;  and  a  slight  movement  of  the  triple  again 
to  position  shown  in  Fig.  B  would  admit  more 
air  to  the  cylinder.  This  can  be  repeated  until 
the  two  pressures  in  R  and  C  are  equal.  The 
operation  of  the  triple  valve  in  this  manner  is 
what  is  termed  its  graduating  feature,  whereby  a 
small  amount  of  the  auxiliary  reservoir  pressure 
is  admitted  to  the  brake  cylinder  and  communica- 
tion closed,  repeatedly.    For  example,  suppose  in 


340  RAILWAY  EQUIPMENT. 

Fig.  A  the  train  line  and  auxiliary  reservoir  are 
charged  to  the  standard  pressure  of  seventy 
pounds.  The  triple  piston  having  equal  pressure 
on  each  side  is  balanced.  If  five  pounds  train 
line  pressure  be  drawn  off  leaving  sixty-five,  the 
auxiliary  being  left  at  seventy  will  force  the 
triple  piston,  and  w^ith  it  the  slide  valve,  to  posi- 
tion shown  in  Fig.  B.  It  would  remain  there 
until  about  six  pounds  had  gone  to  the  brake 
cylinder  from  the  auxiliary  reservoir,  leaving  it 
sixty-four  as.  against  the  train  line's  sixty-five, 
when  the  train  line  pressure  would  push  the  pis- 
ton and  slide  valve  back  just  enough  to  close 
port  s  and  prevent  further  escape  of  air  from 
the  auxiliary  reservoir.  Another  five  pound  re- 
duction would  be  followed  by  a  like  reduction 
from  the  auxiliary  reservoir,  which  would  add 
still  more  to  the  cylinder  pressure.  Although 
some  difference  of  j^ressure  is  required  between 
the  two  sides  of  the  triple  piston  to  move  it, 
this  difference  is  so  slight  that  in  graduated  ap- 
plications it  may  be  said  that  whatever  reduc- 
tion is  made  in  the  train  line  is  followed  by  a 
like  escape  from  the  auxiliary  reservoir. 

Fig.  C  shows  the  plain  automatic  triple  valve. 
To  comprehend  this  valve  it  is  but  necessary  to 
see  how  the  graduating  feature  is  performed  by 
the  addition  of  a  graduating  valve.  The  latter 
(7)  is  fastened  to  the  piston  stem  (5)  by  a  pin  (4) 
and  moves  immediately  with  the  slightest  move- 
ment of  the  piston  (5),  while  the  slide  valve  (6) 
in  which  it  seats    has  a  small  free  movement 


THE  AIR  BRAKE. 


341 


lengthwise  on  the  piston  stem.  When  a  reduc- 
tion of  five  pounds  is  made  in  the  train  pipe 
pressure  (the  under  side  of  piston),  the  auxiliary 
pressure  (on  top  of  the  piston),  being  greater  by 
five  pounds,  pushes  down  the  piston,  pulling  with 
it  the  graduating  valve  (7)  and  the  slide  valve  (6) 


FIC.  C. 


H  (fftrifiif 

TO  tfUXILIfpy  fiESCKvo/R- 


Efii3.  FEED  PORTS. 
^.    Gft/IDUAT/f^G   y^LVE  P/M 

5.  P/STOf^  &  ST£/^ 

6.  •SHOE    y/fiy£ 

7.  o/i/iDu^T/f/c  v/ri^'S 

8.  6fi/}DU/i7/Na  ST£M. 

9.  CfiflOU^T/NG   SPA/f^G 

to.  PouP'W/rr  eocA  h£Y 

II.   FOUP-^fly  COCX  ff/f^DlE 

J£.  p/srofiP/^c/</f^o  /i/^a 
/V.  Sl/OE  YPl  y£  /'OPT 

S.  cri/NO£/i  F>o/^r. 


until  the  slide  valve  port  (n)  is  opposite  the  cyl- 
inder port  (5).  It  remains  in  that  position  until  a 
little  more  air  than  five  pounds  of  auxiliary  pres- 
sure has  gone  to  the  brake  cylinder,  when  the 
piston  is  moved  up  enough  to  seat  the  graduating 
valve  (7),  but  not  enough  to  move  the  slide  valve. 


342  RAILWAY  EQUIPMENT. 

Further  light  reductions  from  the  train  pipe  will 
require  but  the  easy  movement  of  opening  and 
closing  the  graduating  valve  to  apply  the  brake 
with  more  force.  When  sufficient  air  is  taken 
from  the  train  pipe  to  hold  the  graduating  valve 
open  until  the  auxiliary  has  supplied  a  pressure 
to  the  brake  cylinder  equal  to  that  remaining  in 
itself,  the  pressures  are  said  to  have  equalized 
and  the  brake  is  fully  applied.* 

The  graduating  stem  (8)  is  held  by  its  spring 
in  such  a  position  that  the  triple  valve  piston 
(5)  cannot  readily  move  farther  than  will  bring 
the  slide  valve  port  (n)  in  line  with  the  cylinder 
port  (5).  However,  should  the  pressure  from 
the  train  pipe  escape  faster  than  the  auxiliary 
pressure  can  get  through  the  small  ports  7t  and 
s,  to  the  brake  cylinder,  the  pressure  on  the 
top  of  the  triple  valve  piston  would  be  enough 
greater  than  that  beneath  it  to  force  the  grad- 
uating stem  (8)  down.  This  further  movement 
of  the  piston  would  carry  the  slide  valve  wholly 
beyond  the  cylinder  port  (s)  and  air  would  be 
admitted  from  the  auxiliary  reservoir  to  the 
brake  cylinder  past  the  end  of  the  slide  valve 
(as  shown  in  Fig.  B).  This  extreme  movement 
of  the  triple  valve  is  called  its  emergency  posi- 
tion. 


*  This  is  but  a  passing  word  regarding  the  equalization  of 
pressure.  The  subject  is  largely  misunderstood,  as  it  seems 
to  many  to  be  governed  by  no  simple  law.  It  is  clearly  ex- 
plained and  illustrated  elsewhere  in  connection  with  <'  piston 
travel." 


THE  AIR  BRAKE.  343 

With  the  plain  triple  valve,  as  with  all  pre- 
vious automatic  valves,  all  the  air  drawn  from 
the  train  line  to  apply  the  brakes  must  escape 
from  the  engineer's  valve  or  the  opening  where 
the  reduction  is  made.  When  trains  of  fifty  air- 
braked  cars  were  used,  it  was  found  that  if  a 
hose  burst  on  the  first  car  or  emergency  was 
applied  by  the  engineer's  valve,  several  seconds 
elapsed  before  the  rear  car  brake  had  begun  to  set 
and  during  this  interval  the  slack  had  '^  run  in  " 
and  caused  damage  to  the  cars  and  their  con- 
tents. If  the  brake  were  set  suddenly  from  the 
rear  end  of  a  long  train,  before  the  forward 
brakes  were  applied,  the  train  would  break  in 
several  parts.  To  remedy  this  defect  a  triple 
valve  was  designed  that  would,  under  emergency 
application,  vent  the  train  pipe  pressure  to  the 
atmosphere  under  each  car;  thus  the  escape 
from  one  car  would  apply  the  next  brake,  and 
so  on  to  the  last,  thereby  accelerating  their 
action  as  the  air  did  not  have  to  travel  the 
length  of  the  train  to  escape.  This  was  the 
original  quick-action  triple  valve.  The  use  of  a 
portion  of  this  escaping  train  pipe  pressure  in 
the  brake  cylinder,  instead  of  allowing  it  to 
escape  to  the  atmosphere,  constitutes  the  im- 
provement in  the  later  form  of  quick-action 
triple  valve  shown  in  Fig.  D. 

The  plain  triple  valve  is  now  applied  to  loco- 
motives only.  The  quick  action  triple  valve  has 
the  same  parts  as  the  former,  with  more  parts 
added.     In  an  ordinary  application  of  the  l)rake, 


344 


RAILWAY   EQUIPMENT. 


only  the  same  parts  are  brought  into  action  and 
cars  equipped  with  one  kind  of  valve  will  work 
properly  with  those  equii^ped  with  the  others. 
When  a  rapid  reduction  of  the  train  line  pressure 

FIG.D. 


TO  'm/xji//r/iY 


Tor/rfiwp/p£  <- 


TO  s/rfiiff  enM/>£/i 

t  r££D   POf>TS 
3    £X,H/!l/JT  PO/!7 
■4  GftMDl/fiTMO  /VA' 

5  P/STO/^  &  ^7£M 

6  siiD£  v^iys 

7  GJtj90i/Ar///c  y'9iy£ 

8  -  OT-/-// 

9  "  -sf/i/f/o 

10  £/-fs/fes^cr  y/)lv£ 
//  fic/eee^  ssat 
IZ  ef'fCK  y/>iy£  sfi/^/MS 
13  c//frA  y/nya 

IS  £»£/i6£//ey  p/sroft 


fjl  i-  PO/irS 


0(//c/f  /fcr/o/v  Tr/ple  V/fn/£. 


is  made,  as  in  the  case  of  the  plain  triple  valve 
under  like  circumstances,  the  triple  valve  piston 
(5)  compresses  the  graduating  spring  (9)  and  pulls 
the  slide  valve  (6)  into  a  position  farther  than 


THE  AIR  BRAKE.  345 

that  of  ordinary  service.  Thus  the  graduating 
port(c/'^)in  the  slide  valve  is  carried  past  the  cyl- 
inder port  (f/)  and  registers  with  port  e,  allowing 
auxiliary  reservoir  pressure  to  pass  to  the  top  of 
the  emergency  valve  piston  (15),  which  shoves 
down  the  emergency  valve  (10)  and  allows  the 
train  line  pressure  beneath  to  flow  through  to 
the  brake  cylinder.f  At  the  instant  port  a  comes 
opposite  port  e,  the  small  port  h  in  the  slide  valve 
is  in  register  with  the  cylinder  port  d,  admitting 
auxiliary  reservoir  pressure  to  the  brake  cylinder. 

Although  the  auxiliary  reservoir  pressure  is 
thus  opened  to  the  brake  cylinder  simultaneously 
with  the  train  pipe,  the  emergency  valve  (10)  is  so 
much  larger  that  the  greater  part  of  the  pressure 
at  first  received  by  the  cylinder  comes  from  the 
train  line.  When  the  train  line  and  the  cylinder 
pressures  equalize,  as  they  w^ill '  at  about  fifty 
pounds  from  an  original  seventy,  the  train  line 
check  (13)  closes,  preventing  the  return  of  the  air 
to  the  train  line,  and  then  the  auxiliary  reservoir 
and  the  cylinder  pressure  equalize  through  the 
smaller  ports  {h  and  a).  With  an  original  pressure 
of  seventy  pounds,  the  resulting  brake  cylinder 
pressure  will  be  about  sixty  pounds — or  twenty 
per  cent,  more  than  can  be  obtained  with  any 
triple  valve  other  than  the  quick  action;  a  simi- 
lar increase  in  train  line  pressure  is  also  required 
to  release  the  brake. 

When  the  train  line  and  all  the  auxiliary  reser- 
voirs of  a  train  have  a  pressure  of  seventy  pounds 

*Tn  reality  it  is  a  port  just  back  of  port  a. 

tCheck  valve  13  is  raised  b}'  the  train  line  pressure  under  it 


346  RAILWAY  EQUIPMENT. 

per  square  inch,  they  are  said  to  be  fully  charged. 
The  feed  port  in  the  triple  valve  is  so  small  that 
about  two  minutes  are  required  to  charge  an 
auxiliary,  if  seventy  pounds  pressure  be  main- 
tained in  the  train  line  continually. 

The  two  pressures,  train  line  and  auxiliary 
reservoir,  control  the  movements  of  the  triple 
valve  by  the  preponderence  of  the  one  over  the 
other.  The  law  governing  the  triple  valve  is  as 
follows:  The  triple  valve  moves  to  set  position 
when  the  train  line  pressure  is  reduced  to  less 
than  that  pressure  in  the  auxiliary  reservoir,  and 
to  release  position  when  the  train  line  pressure 
exceeds  that  in  the  auxiliary  reservoir. 

Venting  the  auxiliary  reservoir  pressure  to  the 
atmosphere  by  the  release  valve,  or  ^'  bleeder,"  is 
termed  "bleeding"  a  car.  The  brake  releases 
through  the  triple  valve  as  soon  as  the  auxiliary 
reservoir  pressure  is  less  than  that  of  the  train 
line.  The  principle  is  precisely  the  same  as 
when  the  engineer  releases  by  increasing  the 
train  line  above  the  auxiliary  reservoir  pressure. 

The  pressure  retaining  valve  is  a  valve  con- 
nected by  a  pipe  to  and  directly  controlling  the 
triple  valve  exhaust.  It  can  be  used  with  either 
kind  of  triple  valve.  Its  purpose  is  to  slowly  re- 
lease the  brake  until  it  holds  about  the  same  as  a 
lightly  applied  hand  brake,  retaining  that  pres- 
sure while  the  train  is  being  recharged  on  a 
descending  grade.  It  is  conveniently  placed  at 
the  end  of  a  car  near  the  hand  brake  and  may 
be  operated  from  the  top  of  a  freight  car  or  the 


THE  AIR  BRAKE. 


347 


CKH/IVJr  fianT 


9se 


platform  of  a  passenger  car  of  a  moving  train. 
The  pressure  retaining  valve  is  shown  sectioned 
in  Fig.  E.    While  simple,   it   is    yet    the    most 

liable  of  any  valve  to  mis- 

F/G,E,  use  by  trainmen.     A  han- 

PREssuRE  Retaining  Valv£.  die  controls  the  plug  (P) 

of  a  three-way  cock. 
When  the  handle  is 
turned  to  point  down- 
ward, the  plug  (P)  will  be 
turned  one  quarter  turn, 
bringing  port  a  opposite  h, 
thus  connecting  the  triple 
valve  exhaust  with  the 
atmosphere  through  the 
direct  exhaust  port.  In  that  position  the  triple 
valve  has  as  free  an  exhaust  as  though  the 
retainer  w^ere  removed  from  the  pipe.  When 
the  retainer  is  to  be  used,  the  handle  is  turned 
up  to  a  horizontal  position,  as  shown  in  figure  E, 
before  descending  a  grade.  The  plug  (P)  con- 
nects the  port  h  with  the  under  side  of  a  weighted 
valve  (W)  which  it  must  raise  to  let  pressure 
escape  at  c.  About  fifteen  pounds  are  required 
to  raise  valve  TF,  and  when  raised,  all  in  excess 
of  that  amount  slowly  escapes  through  the  small 
port  c,  the  fifteen  pounds  being  retained  in  the 
brake  cylinder  while  the  engineer  releases  the 
triple  valves  and  recharges  the  auxiliary  reser- 
voirs. 

The  engineer's  valve  is  the  valve  on  the  locomo- 
tive used  to  operate  the  brake.     It  is,  therefore, 


318 


RAILWAY  EQUIPMENT. 


TO  T»£    f>TfiOSPH£R£.. 


TO  M/l/N  f^£<5£/il/0/f^ 


TO    T/i/l/N    L/NE^ 


/TND  /^£e/f/r/f6//ys 
M/i/N  /t£SEffVO/fi  ^  T/f/r/AJ  l/A/E  C0/^NECT£D 

FIG.  G. 


TO  A^/f/f*  fi£S£/fi^O/^  < 


TO    Tfi/>/A/    ^/A/£ 


^    ^OLO/Z^a    ^/?/l^£<5  ^/'^j!./££> 

jT/G.M. 


TO  r^/fff*  /tsss/ryfi/^-^ 


i 


n 

<n  -  ^ 
■J     ^ 


>    ro    T/iff/N  l/MC 


7k/f///  l/N£  0/»£AJ  TO  >^rrfO'5P//f/f£. 

TH£  T/f/?££  yy/^y  coca. 


the  connecting  link  between  the  train  line  and 
the  atmosphere  for  setting  the  brakes,  or  be- 
tween the  main  reservoir  and  the  train  line 
for  releasing,  but  it  cannot  connect  the  three 


THE  AIR  BRAKE. 


349 


simultaneously.    The  first  engineer's  valve  used 
was  the  three-way  cock. 

Figs.  Ff  G  and  H  clearly  illustrate  the  three 
positions  of  a  three-way  cock.  The  outside  rep- 
resents the  body  of  the  valve  and  the  inside  circle 
the  plug  that  can  be  turned  one-fourth  way 
around  by  the  handle,  bringing  the  necessary 
ports  into  communication  (Figs.  F  and  H)  or 
closing  everything  (Fig.  G). 


Fiai. 


I 
-\\i 


■»&'■ 


IB   W 

Is 


Engineer's  Brake  and  Equalizing  Discharge  Valve  with  Feed  Valve  Attach- 
ment and  Duplex  Air  Gauge,  known  as  the  F  6  or  1892  Valve. 

The  engineer's  brake  and  equalizing  discharge 
valve  with  feed  valve  attachment  and  duplex  air 
gauge  is  the  fifth  valve  of  a  series  of  improve- 
ments during  fifteen  years.  The  main  features 
of  the  "three-way  cock"  are  still  retained, 
however.  This  valve  (Fig.  7)  has  two  other 
positions;  running  and  service  application,  making 
a  total  of  five  positions,  beginning  on  the  left, 


350  RAILWAY   EQUIPMENT. 

namely,  release,  running,  lap,  service  application, 
and  emergency.  (See  Fig.  on  page  816.) 

(1)  Release,  or  full  release  as  it  is  frequently 
termed  in  distinction  from  running  position, 
brings  the  main  drum  pressure,  by  means  of  the 
rotary  valve,  in  direct  communication  with  the 
train  line  into  which  it  flows.  This  position  is 
for  quickly  charging  the  train  line  and  auxiliary 
reservoirs,  also  for  releasing  brakes. 

(2)  Running  position  is  but  a  modification  of 
release.  Here  the  passage  for  the  air  from  the 
main  drum  to  the  train  line  is  smaller  and  con- 
tains (depending  upon  the  form  of  valve  used) 
an  excess  pressure  valve  or  a  feed  valve  and 
spring.  The  main  reservoir  pressure  is  thus  held 
at  fifteen  to  thirty  pounds  in  excess  of  that  in 
the  train  line  according  to  the  adjustment.  The 
brake  valve  should  always  be  carried  in  this 
position  except  when  operating  the  brakes. 

(3)  Lap  position  closes  all  ports  in  the  engi- 
neer's valve  and  is  used  between  brake  applica- 
tions, when  a  train  has  parted  or  the  conductor's 
valve  opened,  and  also  when  coupling  to  air- 
braked  cars. 

(4)  The  service  application  position  is  but  a  mod- 
ification of  the  direct  application  or  emergency 
position,  having  a  smaller  opening  of  the  train 
line  to  the  atmosphere,  and  therefore  being  less 
severe.  The  engineer,  by  means  of  the  rotary 
valve  and  handle,  does  not  directly  vent  the  train 
line  pressure,  but  simply  draws  pressure  from 
the  top  of  a  piston  (17,  Fig.  J)  operated  on  from 


THE  AIR  BRAKE. 


351 


below  by  the  train  line  pressure.  The  piston  (17) 
being  balanced  in  positions  1  and  2,  if  in  position 
4,  five  pounds  of  pressure  be  withdrawn  from  the 
top  of  the  equalizing  piston  (17),  this  piston  will 
move  upward,  carrjdng  with  it  its  stem  (which 
forms  the  train  line  exhaust  valve)  and  will  re- 
main open    until   five  pounds  have  gone   from 


F/Ctf. 


F/GS.^jr 


F/G.  K. 


beneath  it — the  train  line.  The  stem  of  this  pis- 
ton does  all  the  braking  in  service,  and  the  open- 
ing it  forms  to  discharge  the  train  line  pressure 
to  the  atmosphere  is  so  small  as  to  preclude  the 
possibility  of  setting  the  brakes  in  quick  action. 
The  position  just  described  should  be  always 
used,  excex)t  in  the  case  of  actual  emergencies. 


352 


RAIL WA Y  EQUIPMENT. 


(5)  Emergency  or  direct  application  position 
brings  the  train  line  wide  open  to  the  atmos- 
phere directly  through  the  rotary  valve. 

When,  by  some  defect  in  the  engineer's  valve, 
service  application  position  does  not  apply  the 
brakes,  position  5  may  be  resorted  to;  then  the 
handle  should  be  gradually  moved  toward  the 
position  so  as  not  to  set  any  quick  action  triple 
valves  that  are  in  the  train  in  emergency;  but 
when  an  actual  emergency  arises,  position  5 
should  be  fully  used  and  the  handle  left  there, 
no  matter  where  it  had  been  previously. 


FIG.L. 


t0  Mm  mtsatu/ie. 


N£OH 


The  Pump  Governor 
(Figs.  L,  M  and  N)  is 
a  device  by  Avhich  the 
steam  supply  to  the  air 
pump  is  automatically 
closed  when  a  sufficient 
amount  of  air  pressure 
has  been  obtained;  it 
also  automatically 
starts  the  pump  again 
when  the  air  pressure 
has  receded  from  that 
desired  point. 

All  the  steam 
from  the  boiler  to 
the  pump  must 
pass  through  the 
bottom  portion  of 
the  governor  con- 
taining the  steam  valve  (9).    This  valve  is  closed 

[Note. — The  Air  Pump  is  fully  explained  and  illustrated  in 
Vol.  XII.] 


TO  PVMP 


Pump  GoyernOH- 


THE  AIR  BRAKE.  353 

by  a  piston  (5),  operated  upon  by  air  pressure 
above  it.  When  there  is  no  pressure  above 
this  piston  (5)  it  is  held  open  by  a  combined 
action  of  the  spring  (8)  below  it  and  boiler 
pressure  beneath  the  steam  valve  (9).  As  the 
spring  and  boiler  pressure  act  constantly,  it  is 
only  necessary  to  see  how  the  air  pressure  is 
admitted  to,  and  taken  from,  the  top  of  the 
air  piston  (5)  to  understand  the  working  of  the 
governor.  (See  Figs.  L  and  M.) 

The  top  of  the  governor  contains  a  very  thin 
flexible  copper  diaphragm  (19),  holding  a  small  pin 
valve  (17)  which  regulates  the  port  leading  to  the 
top  of  the  piston  (5).  This  diaphragm  (19)  has  an 
adjustable  spring  (18)  above  it  and  air  pressure 
on  the  under  side  of  it.  With  the  1892  form  of 
engineer's  valve,  having  a  feed  valve  attachment, 
the  air  connection  at  A  is  from  the  main  reser- 
voir and  the  spring  (18)  is  adjusted  by  the  nuts 
above  to  withstand  about  ninety  pounds  of  air 
pressure  under  the  diaphragm  (19)  before  it  raises 
and  opens  the  pin  valve  (17)  letting  air  pressure 
upon  the  piston  (5)  and  stopping  the  pump. 
When,  from  use  or  leakage,  the  main  reservoir 
pressure  drops  below  ninety,  the  diaphragm  closes 
the  pin  valve  (17)  and  the  air  pressure  above  the 
piston  (5)  escaping,  allows  it  to  raise  the  steam 
valve  (9)  and  start  the  pump. 

With  all  former  engineer's  valves,  the  air  con- 
nection to  the  governor  (at  A)  is  from  the  train 
line,  which  pressure  it  regulates,  similarly,  at 
seventy  (70)  pounds  per  square  inch. 

23    Vol.  1 


RAILWAY  EQUIPMENT. 


Figure  M  shows  the  improved  pnmp  goveTiior, 
working  on  the  same  principle,  but  sufficiently 
altered  to  render  it  more  sensitive  to  the  slightest 
variations. 


net  eesvisuD 


4    ^  i-\  -77^/n  .„. 


ffon  Boa^ft 


\ovri.£r 


-.10  RJt4B' 


Improved  /^ump  Oo^sPAfOA. 

Fig.  N  illustrates  a  governor  with  a  double 
top,  which  is  successfully^  used  with  engineer's 
valves  not  having  the  feed  valve  attachment  and 
also  on  locomotives  equipped  for  either  the  stan- 
dard or  the  ''high-speed"  brake.    When  used  for 


THE  AIR  BRAKE. 


355 


the  first  purpose,  oue  of  the  tops  is  conuected  to 
tlie  train  line  and  adjusted  at  sevent}^  pounds  as 
usual  while  the  other  top  is  connected  to  the 
main  reservoir  pressure  and  set  at  ninety  pounds 


fX9fffi>/ie/( 


roPH/iPt 


or  more,  the  object  being  to  prevent  too  high  a 
pressure  from  accumulating  in  the  main  reservoir 
when  the  brakes  are  held  applied  on  long  descend- 
ing grades  or  in  making  stops  requiring  the  brakes 
to  remain  set  a  long  time. 


35 G  RAILWAY   EQUIPMENT. 

When  this  double  governor  is  used  on  locomo- 
tives hauling  both  the  standard  and  the  high- 
speed brakes  alternately,  both  tops  are  connected 
to  and  govern  the  same  pressure,  but  the  one  is 
set  at  standard  amount  and  the  other  at  twenty 
to  thirty  pounds  higher.  If  the  high-speed  brake 
is  to  be  used,  the  top  governing  the  lower  pressure 
is  cut  out  by  a  small  cock  for  the  purpose  and  the 
governor  then  regulates  to  the  higher  amount. 

Piston  Travel  and  Brake-Cylinder  Pressure. — 
The  effect  of  piston  travel  upon  braking  power 
requires  some  explanation  to  be  generally  com- 
prehended. Except  in  emergency  application, 
the  auxiliary  reservoir  supplies  the  brake  c^din- 
der  with  all  the  pressure  the  latter  receives. 
When  they  are  both  of  the  same  pressures — i.  e., 
have  equalized — the  limit  of  cylinder  pressure  is 
reached.  The  amount  at  which  they  will  equalize 
is  based  upon  the  laws  of  pressure  and  volume. 
The  reason  that  brakes  on  a  train  do  not  all  set 
the  same  where  the  cars  have  the  same  sized 
auxiliaries  and  the  same  diameter  of  brake  cylin- 
der, is  because  the  amount  of  space  in  an  auxil- 
iary reservoir  is  always  the  same  while  that  of 
the  cylinder  depends  upon  how  far  the  piston 
travels,  as  the  piston  practically  forms  one  end 
of  the  cylinder. 

If  Fig.  0  be  referred  to,  it  will  be  seen  that 
while  the  auxiliary  reservoir  {A)  has  a  cubic 
capacity  always  limited  by  its  fixed  walls,  that 
of  the  brake  cylinder  (C)  has  one  end  fixed  but 
the  piston  forms  the  other  end  of  the  cylinder. 


THE  AIR  BRAKE. 


357 


The  piston  can  only  travel  as  far  as  the  brake 
levers  will  allow  according  to  the  amount  of 
slack  in  their  adjustment;  the  wear  of  the  brake 
shoes  continually  increases  this  slack  and  conse- 
quently the  travel  of  the  piston. 

If  the  piston  could  travel  far  enough  to  cause 
the  cylinder  to  be  equal  in  capacity  to  the  auxil- 
iary reservoir,  then  their  equalized  pressure 
would  be  just  one-half  what  the  pressure  was  in 
the  auxiliary  reservoir  before  the  triple  valve 

FIG.  O. 


Sff/RKE  Cylinder 


opened  communication  to  the  cylinder.  As  Fig. 
0  shows,  the  l^rake  piston  can  travel  but  12 
inches,  while  the  auxiliary  reservoir  has  a  capac- 
ity equivalent  to  about  24  inches  of  the  length  of 
the  cylinder.  Thus  w4th  a  full  piston  travel  of 
12  inches  the  auxiliary  reservoir  is  twice  the  size 
of  the  cylinder;  with  an  8-inch  piston  travel, 
it  is  three  times  as  large;  with  a  6-inch  travel, 
it  is  four  times  as  large,  etc.  Hence  their 
equalizing  points  are  respectively  at  two-thirds, 
three-fourths,   and   four-fifths  the   pressure   the 


tS58 


RAIL  ^yA  Y   EQ  UIPMENT, 

FIG.  P. 


\ 


^0 


~^ 

60  IN. 

G 

50  m. 

A 

SOiri. 

£,0it4. 

JOl_N.__ 

V 

1 

V 

=10= 

J 

^' 


FflT/0  Of/lu/fLi/JRY  /fc5£/iyO/R  f^J  TO  CrUNDER(C) /SZ  Tof, 

auxiliary  reservoir   has  before  the  brake  is  ap- 
plied, as  will  be  shown. 

Figs.  P,  Q  and  R  show  reservoirs  in  which 
water  is  used  to  illustrate  the  effect  of  the  differ- 
ent piston  travels  just  given.  In  Fig.  P  the 
auxiliary  reservoir  {A)  is  twice  as  large  as  the 

FIG.  Q. 

60  IN. 


^S" 


A 


50 _  IN. 
'±sT/v\ 
■90  in' 


30_JN^_ 

10    IN. 

V 


G 


^J" 


/ffir/o  Of /lux J L  //?Rr  /?£6/r/?yo//f  (A J  to  Cri  /Noe/f  (C)  /6  3  to  /. 
/f£P/i£6ENr/NG  ^r^N/)/9/?P  P/,5rON  7ff/J/£l  S//^eM£0. 


THE  AIR  BRAKE. 


359 


cylinder  (C);  in  Fig.  Q  it  is  three  times  as 
large,  and  in  Fig.  B  four  times — all  the  reser- 
voirs {A)  are  of  the  same  size,  the  difference  in 
the  cuts  being  in  the  size  of  the  cj^linder  (C). 

In  Fig.  P  if  A  be  filled  with  say  sixty  inches 
of  water  {C  being  emptj')  and  valve  F  opened, 
twenty  inches  of  water  wall  flow  from  A  to  C, 
making  forty  inches  in   C,  as  A  is  twice  as  large, 

FIG.  R. 

60     IN. 

SO      IN_ 
^O     IN 

30    IN. 

_ZO__IN_ 
10       IN 

V 


^8' 


M 


:'.-:-:{?  ^<9' 


fiEF8£5jEA/T/N0  <5/fO/iT  F/3r0/i   T/T/f/fL     6//feH£<3. 

and  leaving  forty  inches  in  A.  Hence  their 
equalizing  point  is  at  forty  or  two-thirds  the 
original  amount  in  the  auxiliary  reservoir  (^), 
and  the  necessary  reduction  from  A  to  cause 
this  equalization  is  20-60,  or  one-third  of  its  orig- 
inal amount. 

In  Fig.  Q,  if  the  experiment  be  repeated,  but 
fifteen  inches  of  w^ater  will  flow  from  .1  to  C, 
making  forty-five  inches  in  C,  as  A  is  three 
times  the  size  of   C,   and  leaving   the  same  in 


360  RAILWAY   EQUIPMENT. 

A  (45).  Thus  fort^'-five  or  three-fourths  the  orig- 
inal is  their  equalizing  point,  and  one-fourth  is 
the  necessary  reduction  from  A  to  cause  equali- 
zation. 

In  Fig.  B  only  twelve  inches  of  water  will 
flow  from  the  auxiliary  reservoir  A,  making 
forty-eight  inches  in  C,  as  A  is  four  times  the 
size  of  C,  and  leaving  forty-eight  remaining  in  A. 
Here  48-60  or  four-fifths  the  original  is  their 
equalizing  point,  and  one-fifth  is  the  necessary 
reduction  to  produce  equalization. 

Now,  if  three  cars  one,  two  and  three  were 
coupled  together  with  piston  travels  of  12,  8, 
and  6  inches  respectively,  and  the  train-line 
pressure  reduced  ten  pounds  from  an  original 
charged  pressure  of  sixty  pounds,  a  like  amount, 
or  ten  pounds, w^ould  flow  from  the  auxiliary  res- 
ervoir of  each  car  to  its  corresponding  brake  cyl- 
inder, but  the  resultant  pressures  in  the  cylinders 
would  be  twenty  pounds  in  car  one,  thirty  pounds 
in  car  tivo,  and  forty  in  car  three.  Although  these 
brakes  w^ould  hold  so  much  differently,  yet  they 
would  all  be  released  with  a  slight  increase  of 
train  pipe  pressure. 

With  auxiliary  reservoirs  and  train  line  of 
these  three  cars  charged  to  a  pressure  of  say 
sixty  pounds,  a  train  line  reduction  of  one-fifth 
or  twelve  pounds  fully  applies  the  brake  on  car 
three  with  forty-eight  pounds  cylinder  pressure. 
A  further  reduction  of  three  pounds  (making  15 
in  all)  is  necessary  to  fully  apply  or  equalize  the 
pressure  on  car  tivo  with  but  forty-five  pounds. 


THE  AIR  BRAKE.  361 

not  at  all  affecting  the  forty-eight  pounds  of 
brake  three,  Avhile  it  takes  a  total  reduction  of 
twenty  pounds  to  fully  equalize  brake  one  with 
but  forty  pounds  in  its  cylinder — leaving  three 
and  two  at  their  equalized  points  as  above.  The 
train  line  pressure  is  now  at  forty,  or  twenty 
below  what  it  was.  If  this  pressure  be  slowly 
increased,  they  will  release  in  the  opposite  order 
from  that  in  which  they  equalized,  that  is,  brake 
one  lets  off  first  when  the  train-line  pressure  is 
over  forty,  two  releases  when  it  exceeds  forty- 
five,  and  three  not  until  above  forty-eight  pounds 
is  had  in  the  train  pipe. 

It  will  then  be  plain  why  uniform  braking 
cannot  be  accomplished  where  the  piston  travel 
of  cars  in  a  train  diff'ers  widely  and  also  why, 
in  such  a  case,  it  is  better  for  an  engineer  to 
make  under  rather  than  over-reductions  that  he 
may  be  able  to  release  all  cars  together."^' 

Automatic  Slack  Adjusters. — Many  devices  have 
recently  been  invented,  several  of  which  have 
proven  practicable,  by  means  of  which  the  slack 
is  automatically  taken  up  on  the  brake  rigging 
as  the  shoes  Avear,  thus  keeping  the  piston  travel 
uniform.  Their  desirability  is  apparent  and  all 
the  adjustment  necessary  with  them  is  to  let  out 


*A  lull  reduction  is  the  necessary  amount  that  must  be 
taken  from  the  train  line  to  equalize  the  auxiliary  reservoir 
and  the  brake  cylinder  pressures  on  a  car;  an  under-r eduction 
is  a  less  amount  than  this;  an  over-reduction  is  more  than  is 
necessary  and  its  effect  is  to  waste  air  and  render  it  frequently 
impossible  for  an  engineer  to  release  all  brakes  simultaneously. 


■66'2 


RAILWAY  EQUIPMENT. 


the  slack  sufficiently  or  more  than  enough  when 
'putting  on  new  brake  shoes. 

Train  Air  Signal. — The  train  air  signaling  ap- 
paratus on  a  passenger  car  consists  of  a  pipe 
running  the  length  of  the  car  with  a  stop  cock 
at  each  end  and  a  branch  pipe  leading  up  to  a 
discharge  valve  which  is  operated  by  a  signal 
cord  placed  similarly  to  the  old-time  bell  cord. 
The  signal  pipes  on  the  cars  are  connected  to 
each  other  and  to  the  locomotive  by  hose  and 
couplings  differing  sufficiently  from  those  of  the 
train  line  to  avoid  a  wrong  connection  being 
made.     (See  Figs.  Z  and  Aa.) 

The  apparatus  on  the  locomotive  comprises  a 
reducing  valve,  which  supplies  the  signal  system 
with  main  reservoir  air  but  at  a  reduced  pres- 
sure— about  forty  pounds — and  a  signal  valve 
which  causes  a  blast  of  air  to  blow  a  small 
whistle  in  the  cab  when  any  sudden 
reduction  of  the  signal  line  pressure 
occurs,  as  when  the  discharge  valve 
in  some  car  is  opened  or  a  break-in- 
two  occurs. 

The  High-Speed  Safety  Valve  here- 
with shown  (Fig.  ^S')  is  for  the  pur- 
pose of  attachment  of  cars  ordinarily 
equipped  with  the  standard  brake 
to  a  train  wholly  equipped  with  the 
"high-speed"  brake.  This  valve  is 
.^/SnTp/aTiM^^s.  screw^ed  into  the  oil  hole  of  the  stan- 
dard cylinder  and  its  spring  is  set  to 
relieve  the  cylinder  slowly  of  all  pressure  over 


FIG.S^ 


THE  AIR  BRAKE.  363 

the  standard  maximum  pressure,  and  thus  pre- 
vent wheel  sliding. 

ADDITIONAL   INSTRUCTIONS    TO    ENGINEERS. 

Test  of  Brakes. — The  brake  test  should  never 
be  omitted  under  any  circumstances,  and  must 
not  be  considered  a  waste  of  time  on  freight 
trains;  they  have  less  rights,  and  consequently 
less  protection  on  the  road  than  passenger  trains, 
and  every  precaution  should  be  taken  to  know 
that  the  brakes  are  working  properly.  It  would 
seem  almost  needless  to  say  that  a  long  freight 
train,  having  a  close  meeting  point  at  the  next 
station,  should  have  brakes  tested  before  start- 
ing; and  it  would  appear  equally  absurd  to  omit 
the  brake  test  before  leaving  a  terminal  'Mje- 
cause  it  was  up  grade  a  long  ways,  and  brakes 
are  not  needed  to  stop  the  train."  One  brake 
dragging  on  a  grade  may  stall  a  train. 

While  nothing  can  be  done  by  the  engineer  to 
take  the  place  of  the  terminal  test  of  each  car 
that  the  trainmen  should  make  while  the  train 
is  standing,  yet  there  are  several  ways  in  which 
an  engineer  of  a  moving  train  can  tell,  approx- 
imately, the  number  of  air-braked  cars  to  which 
he  has  connection.  This  may  frequently  be  in- 
strumental in  discovering  cases  where,  through 
malicious  intent  or  carelessness,  many  or  all  of 
the  train  brakes  have  been  rendered  inoperative 
from  the  engine  by  the  turning  of  a  hose  cock. 

The  best  method  of  making  a  running  test  of 
the  bra^kes  is  to  make  a  service  application  of 


364  RAILWAY  EQUIPMENT. 

from  four  to  five  pounds,  say,  two  miles  from  the 
next  stopping  or  meeting  point,  railroad  cross- 
ing, draw-bridge,  or  sj^stem  of  interlocking 
switches,  and  then  notice  the  amount  and  length 
of  the  blow  from  the  train  line  exhaust  nipple  of 
the  engineer's  valve.  To  an  experienced  man 
the  length  of  this  blow  will  reveal  very  closely 
the  number  of  cars  of  standard  piping  he  has  in 
connection  with  his  engine.  If  an  engineer  wishes 
to  note  the  holding  power  of  the  brakes  as  a  run- 
ning test,  then  he  should  make  a  much  heavier 
reduction  after  the  first,  for  it  should  be  borne  in 
mind  that,  on  account  of  the  leakage  grooves 
three  inches  long  in  each  car  cylinder,  so  light 
an  application  as  four  or  ^\e  pounds  will  be  felt 
to  hold  the  train  better  with  a  very  few  cars 
working  than  if  all  were  working. 

Another  but  inferior  method  of  making  a  run- 
ning test  a  safe  distance  from  danger  points,  is  to 
throw  the  handle  of  the  engineer's  valve  to  full 
release  position  (having  previously  had,  say, 
twenty  pounds  of  excess  pressure)  and  note  the 
number  of  pounds  that  the  main  reservoir 
hand  of  the  gauge  drops  back  before  the  two 
pointers  meet.  On  short  trains,  with  average- 
sized  main  reservoirs,  if  free  from  water,  the 
drop  may  be  about  one  pound  to  the  car,  but  a 
little  experimenting  on  an  engine  will  determine. 
If  the  train  line  exhaust  of  the  engineer's  valve 
blows  when  the  handle  is  thrown  to  full  release, 
there  are  probably  no  cars  at  all  connected  to 
the  engine.    As  this  form  of  running  test  tends 


THE  AIR  BRAKE.  365 

to  overcharge  the  train,  it  may  cause  brakes  to 
set  and  drag  therafter  when  a  stop  is  not  made. 

Defective  Car. — One  defect  in  a  single  quick 
action  triple  valve  will  cause  the  brakes  on  a 
whole  train  to  apply  in  emergency  when  a  service 
stop  is  desired.  On  amoving  freight  train -this 
may  cause  considerable  damage  to  cars  and  their 
contents.  Such  action  can  be  determined  and 
the  car  cut  out  before  starting  if  the  engineer 
will  but  watch  the  train  line  exhaust  from  his 
engineer's  valve.  If  this  exhaust  stops  suddenly 
before  he  has  had  time  to  reduce  the  full  twenty 
pounds  from  the  gauge,  he  will  know  the  brakes 
have  gone  into  emergenc3^  They  are  not  apply- 
ing in  emergency  when  the  train  line  exhaust 
blows  properly  for  the  length  of  train. 

Rimning  Position. — Always  carry  the  handle  at 
this  position  with  any  engineer's  valve.  When 
releasing  brakes  ordinarily  if  the  handle  is  imme- 
diately returned  to  running  position  before  the 
engineer  takes  his  hand  from  the  valve,  no  trou- 
ble will  be  had  from  brakes  dragging.  Excess 
pressure,  which  is  obtained  in  this  position,  is 
very  like  insurance — handy  when  adversity  arises 
and  then  is  too  late  to  obtain  it. 

Clean  Valves. — Frequently  clean  the  governor 
pin  valve,  the  excess  pressure  or  the  feed  valve, 
and  the  rotary — oiling  the  latter  only,  when  re- 
placing. If  very  little  oil  be  used  in  the  air 
cylinder  of  the  pump,  these  valves  will  seldom 
become  gummed  and  defective.  No  engineer  can 
do  perfect  braking  with  any  of  them  defective. 


360  RAIL^yAr  equipment. 

Pump  Stopped. — Pumps  frequently  stop  from 
lack  of  oil  in  the  steam  end  and  fail  to  compress 
air  from  heating  at  the  air  end  due  to  their 
being  run  unnecessarily  fast.  It  is  well  to  re- 
member that  a  few  drops  of  oil  from  the  lubri- 
cator to  the  steam  cylinder  when  starting  the 
pump  and  a  few  minutes  more  time  taken  to 
charge  a  train  on  a  hot  day  may  prevent  a  pump 
failure.  If  the  air  cylinder  of  a  pump  be  ex- 
cessively hot,  allowing  water  to  be  sucked  in  will 
cool  it  and  should  be  practiced  before  inserting 
oil.  Engine  oil  is  more  annoying  in  its  after 
effects,  and  hence  cylinder  oil  is  advisable — ap- 
plying it  always  through  the  cup  provided  for 
that  purpose  and  not  through  the  air  suction. 
Details  could  be  given  as  to  the  proper  procedure 
where  a  pump  has  stopped  on  the  road,  but  the 
proper  tools  are  generally  lacking  and,  excepting 
in  a  few  cases,  the  repair  cannot  be  made  by  the 
engineer  without  long  delay.  It  is  better  for 
enginemen  to  know  how  to  treat  a  pump  so  as  to 
prevent  its  stopping  and  to  act  accordingly  than 
to  be  able  to  repair  it  on  the  road.* 

Air  Signal. — Extra  passenger  engines  equipped 
with  the  air  signal  when  it  is  not  in  use  should 
have  their  reducing  valves  cut  out  by  closing  the 
stop  cock  for  that  purpose,  so  as  to  prevent  the 
accumulation  of  dirt  and  oil,  rendering  it  de- 
fective when  next  wanted  for  use. 

Handlmg  Traiiis. — In  handling  freight  trains, 
either  partially  or  wholly  equipped  with  air 
brakes,  allow  ample  room  for  making  the  stop 

*The  principle  and  Avorking  of  the  air  xiump  are  fully  de- 
.scribed  and  illustrated  in  Vol.  XII. 


THE  Ain  BRAKE.  367 

and  wait,  after  shutting  off,  for  what  slack  there 
is  to  be  taken  up.  Then  a  reduction  of  seven  or 
eight  pounds  should  be  made  and  another  wait 
also  made  for  the  slack  to  come  up.*  After  the 
slack  is  taken  up  (''bunched")  the  engineer  may 
reduce  further  as  circumstances  and  his  judg- 
ment dictate,  bearing  in  mind  that  the  brakes 
should  not  be  released  until  a  full  stop  is  reached. 
If  it  is  necessar}'  to  release  the  brakes  on  a  freight 
train  while  moving  slowl}^  it  should  be  done 
quickl}^  and  with  as  little  air  as  possible  and  the 
valve  lapped  until  ready  to  re-apply.  This  is  the 
most  essential  point  in  making  more  than  one 
application,  t 

To  release  a  part  air  train  ivhile  moving  is  a 
most  skillful  operation,  and  should  only  be  em- 
ployed when  necessary.  To  do  this  without 
breaking  the  train  in  two  or  jerking  the  rear  end, 
an  engineer  should  place  the  engineer's  valve  in 
running  position  for  a  fraction  of  a  second  and 
then  return  it  to  lap,  awaiting  the  release  of  any 
triple  valves  this  movement  may  have  affected. 
He  should  continually  repeat  this  until  probably 


*  With  less  than  ten  cars  of  air  five  pounds  should  be  used 
for  the  first  reduction;  with  ten  to  twenty  cars  of  air,  five  to  six 
pounds  should  be  used;  with  twenty  to  thirty  cars  of  air,  six 
to  seven  pounds;  with  thirty  to  fOXj  cars  of  air,  seven  to  eight 
pounds.  This  is  required  to  get  the  pistons  of  all  cars  past  their 
leakage  grooves. 

f  From  the  time  the  brakes  are  applied  until  they  are  re- 
leased, no  matter  how  many  reductions,  is  one  application; 
after  they  have  been  released  and  are  re-applied,  is  the  second 
application. 


368  RAILWAY   EQUIPMENT. 

all  brakes  have  released,  a  few  at  a  time,  finally 
placing  his  handle  in  full  release  a  few  seconds 
to  be  sure  all  are  off. 

Train  Parted,  Etc. — When  the  brakes  are  ap- 
plied suddenly  from  some  unknown  cause,  such 
as  hose  burst  or  train  parted,  the  engine  should 
be  shut  off  immediately  and  the  engineer's  valve 
lapped.  When  a  train  has  parted  between  air- 
braked  cars,  it  should  never  be  attempted  to  pull 
away  from  the  rear  section.  If,  after  coupling 
up,  all  the  brakes  do  not  release  at  once,  lap 
the  valve  and  secure  excess  pressure;  never  try 
to  *'pump  them  off." 

Avoiding  Over- Reductions. — A  reduction  of  more 
than  one-third  of  the  auxiliary  reservoir  pressure 
is  always  an  over- reduction;  with  piston  travel 
not  over  eight  inches,  more  than  one-fourth  is  an 
over-reduction.  Freight  trains  are  handled  more 
uniformly  well  if  no  over-reduction  is  made  on 
any  cars  of  the  train — even  those  with  the  short- 
est travel  of  piston,  which  require  but  a  one-fifth 
reduction. 

Passenger  Trains. — On  account  of  the  slight 
amount  of  slack  on  a  passenger  train,  an  engi- 
neer should  bear  in  mind  that  there  is  no  excuse 
for  jerking  with  the  air  brakes.  If  the  brakes 
be  released  properly  before  coming  to  a  dead 
stop  and  emergency  not  used  when  the  train  is 
moving  slowly,  the  train  will  not  be  jerked  by 
the  brakes.  Careful  handling  of  the  throttle  and 
keeping  the  engine  brakes  in  good  order  will 
prevent  jerks  due  to  the  engine. 


THE  AIR  BRAKE.  369 

In  making  water-tank  or  other  "chalk-line" 
stops,  it  is  best  not  to  attempt  to  make  the  stop 
with  one  application  on  a  passenger  train.  Re- 
duce to  a  very  slow  speed,  releasing  all  brakes 
and  immediately  lapping  the  engineer's  valve 
until  ready  to  re-apply  lightly  for  the  desired 
stopping  point.  As  the  brake  is  so  slightly  ap- 
plied, little  or  no  shock  is  occasioned  now  by 
holding  the  brakes  on  to  a  full  stop. 

To  Avoid  Sliding  of  Wheels  on  a  slippery  rail, 
two  applications  may  be  employed  in  making  a 
stop  on  passenger  trains.  A  heavy  application 
should  then  be  made  when  the  train  is  moving 
fast  and  the  wheels  are  least  liable  to  slide.  The 
brakes  should  all  be  released  when  the  speed  has 
been  reduced  to  fifteen  or  twenty  miles  per  hour 
and,  finally,  a  light  application  made — as  then 
wheels  will  slide  most  easily.  The  rails  should 
also  be  continuously  sanded. 

ADDITIONAL   INSTRUCTIONS    TO    TRAINMEN. 

Bloiv  Out  Hose. — Dust,  dirt  and  cinders  are  the 
greatest  enemy  of  the  air  brake.  Since  the  air 
brake  is  the  trainman's  best  friend,  trainmen 
should  do  everything  possible  to  keep  dirt  out  of 
the  air  brake  apparatus  by  blowing  out  or  shak- 
ing dirt  from  all  couplings  before  uniting  them. 
Setting  quick  action  should  be  avoided  by  open- 
ing cocks  slowly,  as  quick  action  throws  sand 
and  dirt  into  the  triple  valves  and  cylinders  and 
causes  many  leaks. 

24-    Vol.  1 


370 


RAIL WA Y   EQUIPMENT. 


Coupling  and  TJncoiipling. — After  coupling  thv- 
liose,  the  hose  cock  nearer  to  the  engine  should 
first  be  opened  and  the  hose  tested;  then  the 
other  cock  should  be  opened  slowly  to  prevent 
setting  the  brakes  in  emergency. 

In  uncoupling,  the  farther  hose  cock  from  the 
engine  should  be  closed  first. 

The  hose  should  always  be  cut  by  hand  before 
uncoupling  tlie  drawbars.'-' 

Discovering  Leaks. — This  should  always  be  done 
before  any  test  of  the  brakes  is  made  and  while 
the  train  is  being  charged.  When  there  is  a 
strong  wind  and  leaks  cannot  be  heard,  yet  the 
pump  indicates  excessive  leakage,  all  communi- 
cation between  the  engine  and  train  should  be 
closed  and  the  engine  thus  tested.  The  engine 
being  found  tight,  the  rear  half  of  the  train 
should  then  l)e  cut  off,  thus  testing  the  first  half 
with  the  engine  connected.  Whichever  half  of 
the  train  now  is  proven  to  have  the  leakage 
should  be  again  divided — the  one  part  connected 

to  the  engine  and  the 
M*/0,j»  other  detached.     Con- 

tinuing this  division 
of  the  defective  part 
until  the  leakage  is 
located  and  repaired. 
If  leaks  occur  be- 
tween  hose  couplings 


weeoe  HtJtt 


Sr/iND/JRO   //0S£  COUPl/UGi 


*  Before  coupling  an  engine  to  a  train  or  in  picking  up  un- 
cliarged  air-braked  cars,  it  should  be  ascertained  that  the  cocks 
on  all  the  cars  are  right,  otherwise  all  the  air  may  be  thrown 
away  through  some  open  angle  cock. 


THE  AIR  BRAKE.  371 

Ml  account  of  worn  gaskets,  a  wooden  wedge, 
such  as  a  match  (preferred)  or  a  nail,  placed 
between  the^  lugs  of  the  coupling  will  generally 
prove  effective  (Fig.  T).  Paper  gaskets  should 
not  be  used  nor  the  coupling  lugs  bent  down  by 
pounding.  Leaky  hose  or  pipes  can  often  be 
temporarily  fixed  by  covering  the  part  with  a 
piece  of  old  hose  split  open  and  then  wound 
tightly  with  wire  or  string. 

Emergency  When  Service  is  Intended, — When- 
ever brakes,  being  properly  tested,  set  quick- 
action,  it  is  due  to  some  triple  valve  in  the  train 
being  defective.  The  car  having  the  defective 
valve  can  be  located  by  dividing  the  train  into 
parts  as  described  for  locating  leaks,  each  time 
having  the  engineer  charge  and  apply  the  brakes 
fully  in  service  application  the  same  as  testing. 
When  the  car  is  found  it  should  be  cut  out  and 
its  air  released  and  the  whole  train  again  tested. 

Charging. — Trainmen  should  bear  in  mind  that 
two  minutes  is  practically  the  shortest  time  in 
which  an  auxiliary  reservoir  can  be  charged;  that 
the  brake  will  not  set  until  this  is  done;  and  that 
if  they  attempt  to  test  the  brake  sooner  than  this, 
they  are  simply  wasting  time,  as  the  car  is  not 
charging  as  fast  with  the  train  line  pressure  thus 
reduced. 

In  charging  long  freight  trains  with  small  leak- 
age, an  eight-inch  air  pump  should  require  about 
one-half  as  many  minutes  as  there  are  cars;  a 
nine  and  one-half  inch  pump  should  charge  in 
about  half  the  time. 


372 


RAILWAY  EQUIPMENT. 


FIGM. 


THE  ANGLE  COCK. 


Air  Cocks. — There    are   two    varieties    of    air 
cocks   ill    use,  as    illustrated — the    straight-way 

cock  and  the  angle  cock. 
As  a  handle  changed 
from  one  style  of  cock 
to  the  other  and  bent 
or  straightened  to  cor- 
,  respond  in  appearance 
would  produce  an  effect 
just  the  opposite  of  what 
its  position  would  indi- 
cate, notice  should  be 
taken  of  the  groove  in 
the  top  of  all  air-cock 
plugs.  This  groove 
always  stands  length- 
tvise  with  the  pipe  to  be 
open  and  across  the  pipe 


C/tO0V£ 

Fig.  1. 
Angle  Cock  Open— Top  View. 

THE  ANGLE  COCK. 


Fig.  2.    Angle  Cock  Open. 


F/G.7. 


to  be  closed  immaterially 
of  how  the  handle  points 
(see  Figs.  U  and  V). 

On  account  of  its  con- 
struction, when  an  air 
cock  sticks,  the  top  of 
the  plug  should  be  tapped 
down;  if  too  loose,  pull 
up  on  it  by  means  of  the 
handle. 

Cars  Cut  Out. — When  two  or  more  engines  are 
coupled  to  a  train  it  should  be  seen  that  the  first 


Cocn  OPt«. 
THE    PLAIN     STRAIGHT-WAY 
COCK. 


THE  AIR  BRAKE. 


'6Td 


FIG.W. 


car  is  equipped  with  a  qiiick- 
action  brake  in  working 
order.  (Fig.  X  shows  the 
apjDearance  of  a  freight 
brake  with  a  quick -action 
triple  valve  attached.) 

No  more  than  three  piped  ,^g 
cars*  or  cars  equipped  with  ^' 
the  plain  triple  valve  (see  Fig.  C)  should  be  placed 
together  in  a  train,  as  quick  action  may  not  skip 
these  cars  and  apply  the  brakes  behind  them 
properly  in  emergency. 

FIG.  X. 


/fl/X/LZ/JRY  V    !  I  1        7ff/fi.£ 


If 


^^ 


Disabled  Cars. — Whenever  it  is  necessary  on  a 
freight  or  passenger  train  to  place  a  disabled  air 
car  behind  the  air-braked  cars  in  use,  the  hose 
should  be  coupled  to  the  next  car  ahead,  the 
angle  cock  opened  on  the  car  ahead,  but  the 
angle  cock  on  the  disabled  car  closed.  This  keeps 
pressure  in  the  hose  coupling,  and,  if  the  train 


*  A  car  Avitli  t.l"^  brake  cut  out  is  the  .same  as  simply  as  a 
piped  car. 


374  RAILWAY    EQUIPMENT. 

should  part  there,  the  brakes  on  the  head  section 
would  apply  before  the  parts  were  far  separated. 

On  passenger  trains,  when  a  change  in  the 
order  of  the  cars  would  materially  affect  the  con- 
venience of  the  train,  if  the  train  line  on  any 
car  should  become  disabled,  the  signal  pipe  of 
the  car  could  be  used  as  the  train  line  by  util- 
izing a  short  combination  coupling  at  each  end 
of  the  car.  Such  a  coupling  is  formed  by  a  short 
piece  of  hose  with  a  signal  coupling  on  one  end 
and  a  train  line  coupling  on  the  other. 

Hand  Brakes  on  Air-Braked  Cars. — In  setting 
out  air-braked  cars,  where  safety  requires  that 
the  hand  brakes  be  set,  all  the  air  should  first  be 
bled  from  the  cars.  A  failure  to  observe  this 
precaution  may  be  disastrous  in  its  results;  for 
the  air  of  the  car  may  release  the  hand  brake, 
and  then  leak  off,  or  it  may  cause  the  hand  brake 
chain  to  break — either  of  which  leaves  the  car 
without  a  brake  to  hold  it. 

Beleasing  Brakes. — When  it  is  necessary  to  re- 
lease a  brake  by  the  release  valve  or  "bleeder," 
it  should  be  held  open  only  until  the  air  com- 
mences to  escape  from  the  triple  valve.  If  held 
open  longer,  it  has  a  tendency  to  set  brakes  on 
other  cars  with  which  this  car  is  connected. 

Tynple  Valve  Blowing. — A  constant  blow  from 
the  exhaust  port  of  a  quick-action  triple  valve 
can  generally  be  stopped  by  tapping  on  the 
heavy  flanges  of  the  triple  valve,  or  by  setting 
this  car  in  emergency.  To  do  this  latter,  the  car 
should  be  detached  from  others,  else  the  stopping 


THE  AIR  BRAKE.  375 

of  this  one  blow  may  cause  several  other  triple 
valves  to  act  similarly — as  emergency  is  what 
usually  gets  the  dirt  into  the  triple  valve  in  the 
first  place. 

A  continuous  blow  from  the  retaining  pressure 
valve  is  a  triple  valve  blow  and  should  be  treated 
accordingly;  the  retaining  valve  should  never  be 
turned  up  or  its  exhaust  be  plugged  to  stop  such 
a  blow,  as  then  there  is  no  way  for  the  brake  to 
release  after  it  is  once  set. 

A  Retamer  Stopped  Up  can  be  overcome  by  re- 
moving from  the  triple  valve  the  small  plug  that 
is  opposite  the  point  where  the  retainer  pipe 
enters  the  triple.  The  plug  should  be  left  out 
until  the  retainer  is  repaired. 

Leaving  Train  at  Terminals.  —  The  engine 
should  not  be  uncoupled  from  the  train  until 
all- the  air  brakes  have  been  released.  If  a  few 
seconds  be  allowed  after  releasing,  they  are  less 
liable  to  re-apply  after  the  engine  is  detached. 

Test  Brakes  After  Any  Change. — ^Although  the 
air  signal  and  train  line  couplings  are  not  inter- 
changeable, when  the  gaskets  are  worn  they  can 
sometimes  be  forced  together.  Hence,  a  test  of 
the  air  train  signal  and  the  brakes  on  a  passenger 
train  if  any  coupling  has  been  made  or  changed 
should  always  be  made.  In  passenger  service  of 
to-day,  with  its  high  speeds,  the  safety  of  passen- 
gers and  property  depends  upon  the  air  brake, 
and  a  test  of  the  brakes  once  too  often  is  better 
than  to  omit  it.  Forgetting  to  open  an  angle  cock 
has  caused   more  so-called  ''air  brake  failures" 


3/6  RAILWAY  EQUIPMENT. 

than  anything  else.  Ever}^  one  is  liable  to  mis- 
takes of  this  kind  on  freight  as  well  as  passenger 
trains,  but  a  failure  to  test  thereafter  may  be 
criminal  carelessness. 

Operating  the  Train  Air  Signal. — In  using  the 
train  air  signal  care  should  be  taken  to  give  sud- 
den, full  openings  of  at  least  one  full  second  to 
the  car  discharge  valve  and  then  allow  an  inter- 
val of  at  least  two  seconds  between  pulls.  Signal 
apparatus  in  quite  a  defective  condition  can  usu- 
ally be  operated  successfully  by  making  even  a 
longer  blast  and  interval. 

A  leak  in  the  air  signal  pipe  on  a  train  will 
permit  more  perfect  signals  to  be  given  forward 
of  the  leak  than  to  the  rear  of  it,  thus  often 
locating  it  to  the  car. 

(See  Fig.  Z,  showing  the  arrangement  of  the 
Train  Signaling  Apparatus,  and  Fig.  Aa,  showing 
details.) 

A.DDIT10NAL   INSTRUCTIONS   TO   SWITCHMEN   AND 

YARDMEN. 

Cause  of  Leaks. — Pulling  hose  apart  instead  of 
uncoupling  them  by  hand  and  knocking  cars 
together  hard  in  coupling  draw  bars  are  the 
causes  of  many  broken  and  leaky  pipes  on  air- 
braked  cars.  If  badly  leaking,  it  may  necessi- 
tate the  switching  of  them  out  of  the  air  braked 
portion  of  a  train — the  trouble  thus  reverting  to 
those  who  caused  it. 

^^  Bleeding '^  a  Train.  —  If  yardmen  have  to 
''  bleed "  a  train  in  order  to  switch  it,  there  are 


THE  AIR  BRAKE.  377 

three  ways  uf  doing  it,  and  the  amount  of  time 
required  is  in  the  order  in  which  they  follow: 

(1)  Couple  the  train  to  an  air-equipped  switch 
engine  and  have  the  brake  set  and  released  re- 
peatedly in  service  application  until  the  pressure 
is  exhausted  from  the  auxiliary  reservoirs. 

(2)  Slowly  open  an  angle  cock  at  one  end  of 
the  train  and  leave  it  open;  then  ''bleed"  each 
car  by  the  "bleeder."  If  the  angle  cock  be 
opened  quickly  instead  of  slowly  and  the  brakes 
thus  applied  in  emergency,  it  will  take  twenty 
per  cent,  longer  to  "  bleed '^  the  train,  as  there 
will  be  about  ten  pounds  more  air  to  release 
from  each  auxiliary. 

(3)  If  the  train  is  not  to  be  switched  for  half 
an  hour  or  so,  make  a  slight  leak  at  one  end  of 
the  train  line — so  slight  that  the  air  will  escape 
through  the  leakage  grooves  in  each  cylinder 
without  setting  the  brake.  These  leakage 
grooves  are  about  three  inches  long,  and  hence 
if  the  air  does  not  enter  the  brake  cylinder  fast 
enough  to  push  the  piston  past  these  grooves  the 
brakes  will  not  apply. 

CAR    DESIGN. 

Brake  Cylinders.— h^ivge  brake  cylinders  are 
advisable  so  that  the  required  leverage  of  the  car 
will  not  exceed  ten — that  is,  the  power  exerted 
by  the  brake  piston  would  not  require  to  be 
increased  more  than  ten  times  by  the  levers  in 
order  to  give  the  ne^ssary  power  at  the  brake 
shoes. 


378  RAILWAY  EQUIPMENT. 

The  cylinders  should  always  be  placed  in  as 
protected  a  position  as  possible  without  being 
inaccessible  for  cleaning  and  oiling  or  other 
repairs.  On  freight  cars  constructed  for  special 
service  it  is  often  advisable  to  alter  the  usual 
freight  brake  arrangement  by  separating  the 
auxiliary  reservoir  from  the  brake  cylinder  or 
even  employing  tv^^o  cylinders  —  one  for  each 
truck  of  the  car. 

Where  the  auxiliary  reservoir  is  not  placed 
centrally  on  a  car,  the  release  rods,  being  of  dif- 
ferent lengths,  should  be  so  supported  that  their 
jarring  while  the  car  is  in  motion  will  not  release 
the  brake. 

Stiff  Brake  Rigging  is  essential  to  good  brake 
construction,  as  light  levers  and  brake  beams 
will  cause  a  not  inconsiderable  loss  in  brake 
power  due  to  excessive  piston  travel  and  cause 
the  car  to  pull  very  much  harder  on  account  of 
the  small  brake  shoe  clearance  when  the  brake 
is  not  applied. 

Hand  Brake. — It  is  desirable  to  design  the  hand 
brake  on  freight  cars  to  work  with  the  air  brake 
piston  instead  of  against  it,  so  that  the  air  brake 
would  not  throw  the  trainmen  from  the  cars  if 
they  were  using  the  hand  brake  at  the  time  the 
air  brake  was  applied. 

Braking  Power. — All  wheels  should  have  brakes 
applied  to  them.  The  leverage  should  be  propor- 
tioned to  the  light  weight  of  the  car  (except  cars 
be  for  some  service  where  they  will  carry  always 
a  constant  load,  as  wrecking  cars,  pile  drivers, 


THE  AIR  BRAKE.  379 

tool  cars,  etc.)  and  the  same  class  of  equipment 
should  have  a  like  percentage  of  braking  power. 
Where  these  rules  are  not  observed,  wheel  slid- 
ing and  rough  handling  of  trains  are  more  than 
likely  to  occur  without  the  engineer  being  able 
to  detect  it. 

Brake  Hangers  should  be  so  placed  on  freight 
cars  that  the  brake  shoes  will  naturally  leave  the 
wheels  when  the  brake  is  released.  When  this 
is  not  done,  a  large  amount  of  brake  shoe  friction 
will  be  had  on  moving  trains. 

Style  of  Brake. — -The  outside  hung  brake  (i.e., 
brake  beams  hung  outside  the  truck)  has  been 
found  more  desirable  than  the  inside  hung  (i.  e., 
brake  beams  hung  inside  the  truck),  as  the  former 
is  the  more  accessible  for  inspection  and  the 
repairs  are  generally  less. 

The  dead-levers  should  preferably  be  fastened  to 
the  car  body  instead  of  to  the  truck,  as  the  latter 
causes  flange  wear  due  to  the  slewing  of  the  truck. 

Pijping. — On  passenger  cars  with  air  signal  hose 
the  same  length  as  train  line  hose,  the  signal  pipe 
should  be  inside  the  train  pipe  and  dropped  to  a 
plane  four  inches  below  the  latter  and  secured  by 
a  suitable  bracket,  to  prevent  the  hose  rubbing 
together  when  coupled. 

All  pipes  on  both  freight  and  passenger  cars 
should  be  rigidly  secured  to  the  body  of  the  car 
in  such  a  way  as  to  prevent  their  loosening  when 
the  car  timbers  become  more  thoroughly  sea- 
soned. Too  little  attention  is  often  paid  to  the 
proper  security  of  piping. 


380  RAILWAY  EQUIPMENT. 

LOCOMOTIVE   DESIGN. 

The  Main  Reservoi?'  should  be  securely  fastened 
to  the  engine  frame  and  be  of  large  capacity, 
especially  for  freight  service.  If  one  large  res- 
ervoir cannot  be  employed,  two  or  more  smaller 
ones  of  such  shape  as  to  be  hung  in  convenient 
positions  may  be  used. 

The  Steam  Brake  is  now  seldom  applied  to  road 
engines  and  there  are  many  objections  to  its 
use,  most  of  which  are  equally  applicable  to  the 
use  of  the  independent  air  brake  for  engines.  If 
the  engine  brakes  be  independent  of  the  train 
brakes,  accidents  may  result  from  any  sudden 
application  of  the  brakes  on  the  train,  burst  hose, 
parting  of  train,  etc. 

Brake  Cylinders. — As  the  air  brake  is  superior 
to  the  steam  brake  on  locomotives  for  road 
service,  so  is  the  push-down  or  push-out  form 
of  air  brake  cylinder  superior  to  the  pull-up, 
and  requires  much  less  repairs  to  keep  in  good 
order. 

Braking  Power. — The  braking  power  of  loco- 
motives should  be  as  high  as  for  average  cars. 
To  accomplish  this  the  tender  should  be  braked 
to  its  full  light  weight,  with  the  driver  and  truck 
brake  at  seventy-five  per  cent,  their  weights. 

Piping. — Good  work  in  the  piping  of  a  locomo- 
tive is  essential  to  light  and  economical  repairs. 
Whenever  possible,  pipes  should  be  bent  and  few 
angle  fittings — and  those  of  the  best  quality — 
used.  Low  bends  in  piping  which  will  form 
traps  for  condensation  or  other  accumulations 


THK  AIR  BRAKE.  381 

should  be  avoided.  Sufficient  unions  to  enable 
the  parts  requiring  most  frequent  repairs  to 
be  readily  accessible  are  necessary,  and  these 
should  be  placed  where  oscillation  of  the  pipes 
will  be  the  least  liable  to  loosen  them  and  cause 
leaks 

Metallic  Gaskets  should  be  used  in  all  the  steam 
unions  of  air  pumps  to  lessen  the  liability  of 
pump  failures  caused  by  pieces  of  destructilile 
gaskets  obstructing  small  pump  ports. 

Location  of  Air  Pumps. — To  avoid  dust  and  dirt 
in  the  air  pump,  it  should  be  so  placed  that  the 
air  suction  is  above  the  running  board.  If  it  be  not 
practicable  to  place  the  pump  entirely  above  the 
running  board,  the  suction  ports  should  have  a 
pipe  leading  to  a  clean  cool  place  for  receiving 
the  air. 

Pump  Packing. — The  piston  rods  of  air  pumps 
should  be  packed  with  some  of  the  many  suc- 
cessful forms  of  metallic  packing.  This  will 
greatly  reduce  the  liability  of  the  packing  burn- 
ing out  and  minimize  the  cost  of  repairs. 

Teiider  Brake. — Outside  hung  tender  brakes  are 
much  preferable  to  brake  beams  hung  inside  the 
truck,  although  theoretically  the  latter  are  supe- 
rior. The  brake  should  be  equalized  by  levers 
and  not  "chain  equalized."  As  a  properly  de- 
signed tender  brake  will  be  a  powerful  one,  it  is 
advisable  to  employ  standard  freight  car  sizes 
of  rods,  j)ins,  and  levers;  brake  beams  as  stiff  as 
those  for  use  of  passenger  cars  may  be  necessary, 
however. 


382  RAILWAY    KQUTPMKNT. 

EEPAIRS    ON    LOCOMOTIVES. 

In  repairs  to  brake  cijlmders,  only  the  best  oil- 
tanned  leather  should  be  used;  if  it  is  exposed  to 
the  heat  of  the  fire  box  it  should  be  frequently 
oiled. 

The  driver  brake  should  be  kept  in  excellent 
condition  as  it  is  probably  the  most  powerful 
and  most  frequently  used  brake  on  the  train,  and 
also  serves  to  dress  the  steel  tires,  thereby  saving 
repeated  turning  of  tires  and  damage  to  switches, 
frogs,  and  track. 

Air  Signal. — The  reducing  valve  and  the  whis- 
tle should  be  frequently  cleaned,  as  with  the 
former  usually  lies  any  defect  that  may  cause 
false  signaling.  The  reducing  valve  should  al- 
ways be  placed  in  a  warm  (not  hot)  position  on 
a  pipe  coming  from  the  main  reservoir,  so  that 
the  air  will  be  free  from  dirt  and  moisture — its 
two  enemies. 

REPAIRS    ON    CARS. 

Yard  Testing  Plants. —  Large  terminal  points 
should  have  their  yards  equipped  with  air  pipes 
between  every  other  track  for  testing  purposes,and 
should  be  supplied  with  air  at  a  pressure  of  not 
less  than  seventy  nor  more  than  ninety  pounds. 

Triple  valves  that  have  defective  slide  valves 
and  seats  should  be  sent  to  the  general  repair 
shops  where  a  special  tool  for  planing  off  the 
seat  and  a  facing  plate  for  the  valve  will  be  pro- 
ductive of  better  work,  and  at  one-third  the  cost 
of  hand  work. 


THE  AIR  BRAKE. 


383 


THE    SWEENEY    BRAKE. 

The  device  termed  the  ''Sweene}^  Brake"  is 
really  but  the  conversion  of  one  of  the  cjdinders 
of  a  locomotive  into  an  air  compressor  when  the 
air  pump  is  insufficient  or  has  stoj^ped  entirely. 
It  has  been  used  mainly  on  heavy  descending 
grades,  but  can  also  be  used  for  making  a  stop 
on  level  road  when  necessary. 

Fig.  Y  shows  its  application  to  a  locomotive. 
Tapped  into  the  steam  chest  is  a  pipe  leading  to 
the  main  drum.  On  this  pipe  is  a  plug  cock  oper- 
ated from  the 
JF7G,  Yi  cab  by  a  lever,  a 

r--  --,  safety-valv^e  and 

/       \  a  check  valve 

f  j'^-^.....^^^— --  I      (^iiot  shown). 

{  I  I         When  this  de- 

vice   is   to    be 
used    the   en- 
gine's   reverse 
lever  is  placed 
f— 1  in  the  back  mo- 
'""-'  tion  and   this 
stop  cock  open- 
ed. Thus  the  en- 
gine cylinder  is 
converted  into  a 
powerful    com- 
pressor, taking  air  from  the  engine  nozzle  and 
charging  the  main  reservoir,  and  from  thence  the 
train. 


ill 

Ml  I 


384 


RAIL  WA  Y  EQ UIPMENf. 


COMPRESSED    AIR   FOR    SHOP    PURPOSES. 

When  the  amount  of  air  necessary  for  shop 
purposes  is  small,  and  it  is  found  more  conven- 
ient to  use  air  pumps  than  a  compressor,  al- 
though more  wasteful  of  steam,  air  iDumps  can 
be  arranged  to  do  work  with  considerable  saving 
by  compounding  them  with  an  inter-cooler.  One 
six-inch  pump,  water- jacketed,  will  form  a  suffi- 
cient high  pressure  pump  for  two  eight-inch 
pumps  as  low  pressure  compressors  if  a  water 
cooled  reservoir  be  placed  intermediately.  The 
saving  thus,  over  direct  high  compression^  will 
be  something  considerable,  and  the  pumps  keep 
cooler  and  last  longer. 


^)CH/KUS>T 


AuTOfVWTIcRE:DUCING\//qLV3 
RussenoeR  Cfi^RS  &>  Locomotkcs 


THE  AIR   ERA  KM. 


aas 


25    Vol.  1 


"{66 


RAIL  WA  Y  EQ  UIPMEXT. 


FJG.Ac^ 


Main  Signal  Pipe 

T  ~Lll'''h.'l — *'^*'  Signal 


lll^lt^«i^|i;ild  <!■ 


ToCarDischarjeVslv 

SIGNAL  PIPB 
STRAINER 


.  To  WhlaUe 
eiONAL    VAI.VE 


signax  -whistle 


To  M>in  Reservoir 


'  To  Main  Res<Vvoir 

.OL6  REDOCllNO  Valve 


TRAIN  AIR  SIGNALLING  APPARATUS 


.S^oTB,— For  further  reference  to  the  automatic  air  brake  see  Appendix  D. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

ELECTRICITY  AS  A  MOTIVE  POWER  FOR  RAILWAYS, 
EXPLAINING  AND  ILLUSTRATING  ITS  LAWS  AND 
PRACTICAL  APPLICATION  AS  A  MOTIVE  POWER 
FOR   GENERAL   TRANSPORTATION    PURPOSES. 

Elsewhere  I  have  described  the  steam  locomo- 
tive and  its  origin  and  growth,  giving  with  great 
minuteness  the  particulars  connected  therewith. 
The  cuts  and  engravings  which  accompany  the 
account  make  the  whole  plain  to  the  reader  and 
add  much  to  the  practical  and  romantic  interest 
of  the  subject.  While  exhaustive,  apparently,  as 
regards  railway  carriage,  it  is  yet  incomplete. 
A  new  way  has  arisen  for  transmitting  power. 
Steam  is  no  longer  the  only  force  for  propelling 
the  locomotive.  Something  still  more  attractive, 
electricity,  looms  on  the  horizon  to  compete  with 
it.  How  far  this  competition  will  prove  success- 
ful, we  can  only  surmise.  Only  the  future  can 
determine  the  true  place  which  electricity  is  to 
occupy  in  the  evolution  of  general  railway  trans- 
portation. The  desirability  that  its  extended  use 
should  prevail  no  one  will  question,  as  electricity 
is  in  many  particulars  much  more  attractive  than 
steam.  When  power  can  be  furnished  through 
this  medium  as  cheaply  as  by  steam,  then  indeed, 
will  it  be  recognized  and  hailed  as  a  distinct  step 

(387) 


t88 


RAIL WA Y   EQUJP^fEXT. 


Electric  Locomotive.    Baltimore  A  Ohio 
Railroad  Tunnel. 


forward  in  the  progress  mankind  has  been  mak- 
ing for  thousands  of  j^ears  toward  a  perfect 
sj^stem  of  carriage. 

Of  all  subjects  that  relate  to  transportation 
and  to  the  medium  of  power  in  connection  there- 
with, none,  it  is  prob- 
able, excites  more 
general  interest  than 
electricity;  but  about 
none  is  mankind  so 
generally  ignorant. 
We  see  cars  and 
trains  flying  along 
our  streets  and  on 
our  elevated  railways 
through  the  medium  of  this  agency,  but  to  all 
except  a  few  experts  the  details  are  a  profound 
mystery.  We  know  in  a  general  w^ay  that  power 
is  transmitted  along  a  wire  to  be  utilized  as 
the  vehicle  progresses  or,  according  to  another 
method,  it  is  husbanded  in  mysterious  packages, 
or  storage  batteries,  on  the  vehicle  itself,  to  be 
utilized  as  needed  in  the  progress  of  the  journey; 
but  what  the  storage  battery  is,  and  how  power 
thus  confined  is  utilized,  we  are  only  vagueh' 
informed  upon.  How  is  this  wonderful  agent, 
invisible  and  intangible,  yet  powerful  and  com- 
pliant, gathered  and  dispersed?  Through  what 
intricate  and  subtle  medium  is  its  power  held  in 
suspension,  to  be  conveyed,  at  the  will  of  the 
attendant,  to  the  wheels  and  so  to  the  load  they 
caiTy?     Only  experts  can  answer,  and  they  not 


ELECTRICITY  AS  A  MOTIVE  POWER.  389 

always  so  a  layman  can  understand.  I  am  free 
to  confess  myself  lacking  in  many  practical 
details,  although  I  have  been  familiar  with  elec- 
tricity and  it  uses  for  forty  years.  When  young, 
1  was,  for  those  days,  an  expert  in  electrical 
matters,  so  much  so,  indeed,  that  the  government 
sought  to  have  me  sever  my  relations  with  rail- 
roads and  connect  myself  permanently  with  its 
signal  service.  Acquaintance  with  electricity  at 
that  period  of  my  life  has  led  me  to  keep  myself 
more  or  less  in  touch  Avith  it  since;  but  it  has  been 
the  touch  of  an  amateur,  not  such  as  to  properly 
enable  me  to  teach  or  to  trace  scientifically  its 
generation  or  application  to  transportation.  I 
understand  the  subject,  but  not  exhaustively,  as 
it  demands,  or  as  an  instructor  should  under- 
stand it.  It  was  because  of  this  that  I  did  not  at 
first  contemplate  incorporating  in  "  The  Science 
OF  Railways"  an  account  of  the  uses  of  elec- 
tricity in  connection  with  the  problem  of  trans- 
portation. Its  growing  importance,  however,  has 
compelled  this  recognition,  albeit,  late.  I  now 
find  it  necessary  to  take  up  the  subject,  and  to 
take  it  up  in  a  manner  that  will  not  only 
prove  instructive  to  students,  but  also  to  men  of 
the  highest  attainments  in  this  interesting  field 
of  thought  and  to  those  who  are  familiar  with 
the  methods  and  operations  of  ordinary  steam 
railway  practice  as  well. 

My  first  connection  with  railways  was  partly 
associated  with  the  telegraph  department  of  the 
service,  and  in  this  way  I  became  interested  and 


390 


RAILWAY   EQUIPMEN'1\ 


familiar  with  electrical  enterprises  and  ambi- 
tions, as  intimated  above.  Electrical  science 
was,  however,  in  an  embryotic  state  when  I 
ceased  to  concern  myself  with  it  in  a  practical 

way;  but,  v/hile  ceasing  to 
follow  it,  I  continued  to 
preserve  an  interest  in  it 
of  a  theoretical  and  specu- 
lative nature.  This  inter- 
est was,  however,  indefi- 
nite and  unsubstantial.  So 
that  to-day  after  electric- 
ity has  passed  be 3^ on d 
primary  conditions  and 
developed  wide  possibili- 
ties and  uses,  I  confess 
myself  hardly  worthy  to 
be  called  even  a  student, 
No  one  who  cannot  dis- 
cuss it  at  once  practically, 
scientifically  a  n  d 
theoretically,  is 
worthy  to  handle 
the  subject  in  such 
a  treatise  as  I  desire 
to  incorporate  as  a 
part  of  my  work  on 
railways,  which  I 
have  sought  from  the  first  to  make  comprehen- 
sive and  practicable.  For  this  reason  I  have 
called  to  my  aid  in  the  preparation  of  this  part  of 
my  work  a  gentleman  of  world-wide  celebrity  in 


1500  Kilowatt  (2000  Horse  Power)  Engine 
Type  Railway  Generator  Field  with  Brush 
Holder.  (A  kilowatt  equals  one  and  one- 
third  horse-power.) 


ELECTRICITY  AS  A  MOTIVE  POWER.  391 

electrical  mechanism,  Mr.  Charles  F.  Scott,  an 
honored  member  of  the  American  Institute  of 
Electrical  Engineers,  and  the  electrician  in  chief 
of  one  of  the  few  great  electric  manufacturing 
industries  of  the  world.  It  may  be  said  of  him 
that  he  holds  a  high  rank  as  regards  the  theory  and 
practical  application  of  electricity,  and  there  are 
few  who  may  with  any  plausibility  claim  to  be  his 
superiors  in  presenting  its  application  to  railways. 
His  long  association  with  the  great  electrical  in- 
stitution I  have  referred  to  has  made  him  familiar 
with  the  secrets  and  progress  of  electricity,  while 
his  scientific  education  and  rare  attainments  ena- 
ble him  to  understand  perfectly  its  most  subtle 
phases.  As  a  teacher  he  is  so  exhaustive  and 
clear  in  his  statements  that  all  he  says  may  be 
comprehended.  However,  the  subject  is  a  scien- 
tific one  and,  like  all  scientific  subjects,  requires 
intelligent,  careful  and  discriminating  study  to 
understand.  Because  of  the  vast  scope  of  the 
theme  and  its  technical  nature  I  have  found  Mr. 
Scott's  assistance  fundamental  rather  than  acces- 
sory. What  he  has  to  say  is  so  conclusive  that 
after  he  has  spoken  I  have  been  unable  to  add 
anything  that  seems  to  me  to  be  of  particular 
value.  The  engravings  of  electrical  apparatus 
which  accompany  the  matter,  I  have  prepared 
especially  for  this  work.  They  are  practically 
exhaustive  of  the  subject  at  this  time,  and  form, 
with  the  printed  description,  a  complete  exposi- 
tion of  the  theme.  With  this  explanation  I  will, 
w^ithout  further  introduction,  proceed  to  take  up 


392  RAILWAY  EQUIPMENT. 

the  question  of  electricity  in  the  order  in  which 
it  natural!}^  presents  itself  for  investigation.  Be- 
fore doing  this,  however,  I  ma}^  pause  long  enough 
to  say  that  while  railway  carriage,  as  it  has  been 
known  in  the  past,  pre-supposes  steam  as  a  motive 
power  and  the  uses  of  Stephenson  locomotives, 
the  theory  of  such  carriage  (its  science,  I  may 
say)  would  not  be  changed  in  any  important  re- 
spect by  the  use  of  electricity.  This  the  reader 
will  see  upon  reflection.  It  will  involve  changes 
in  machinery,  but  not  in  organization  or  methods 
of  business.  All  the  departments  of  railway  ser- 
vice 'and  the  subdivisions  thereof,  with  their 
principles  of  business  and  methods  of  applica- 
tion, will  go  on  just  as  they  do  to-day  Avithout 
change  of  any  kind — at  least  from  this  source. 
The  men  who  now  operate  our  steam  locomo- 
tives would  be  transferred  to  those  operated  by 
electricity.  That  is  about  the  only  change  in 
the  personnel  of  the  service  there  would  be. 
Therefore,  in  taking  up  the  subject  of  electricity 
in  its  application  to  railways,  the  reader  may 
dismiss  all  side  speculations  of  a  less  interesting 
nature. 


THE  RELATION  OF    ELECTRICITY  TO  TRANSPORTATION. 

Power. — The  fundamental  problem  in  trans- 
portation is  the  production  and  application  of 
power.  The  cost  of  transportation  depends 
largely  upon  the  cost  of  power,  and  its  limita- 
tions in  speed  and  flexibility  are  determined  in 


ELECTRICITY  AS  A  MOTIVE  POWER. 


393 


great  degree  by  the  source  of  power.  There  are 
two  ordinary  sources  of  power,  fuel  and  falling 
water.  The  latter  has  been  useless  for  transpor- 
tation purposes  as  it  could  not  be  conveyed  and 

applied    to    the  mov- 
ing   of    trains.     Coal, 
on  the  other  hand,  is 
easily  transported  and 
can  be  carried  upon 
the  moving  train;  its 
energy    of    chemical 
combustion    can    be 
transformed  through 
the  agency  of  steam 
into   mechanical  en- 
ergy  which    can    be 
applied    directly     to 
the     moving   of    the 
train.     In  the  ca^le 

1500  Kilowatt  Generator  Armature  Core,     ,        "i     fi 
shoAviug  longitudinal  slots  for  winding  and  lOaCl     tUe      OUgine      IS 
radial  openings  between  the  thin  iron  plates  sf,a,tion'irV      and       tllP 
for  ventilation.  .     ^ 

power  IS  conveyed  to 
the  car  by  a  rope.  This  system  finds  its  limita- 
tions in  the  short  distances  to  which  the  cable 
can  extend  owing  to  its  low  efficiency. 

Electricity. — -Electricity  is  not  a  source  of  en- 
ergy. It  does  not  replace  the  falling  water  nor 
the  burning  coal  nor  the  street  car  horse.  It  is 
the  harness  for  connecting  the  engine  or  turbine 
to  its  work,  and  it  replaces  the  cable  as  a  means 
for  conveying  power  from  a  stationary  engine  to  a 
moving  car.     One  can  scarcely  imagine  a  simpler 


394 


RAIL WA Y   EQUIPMENT. 


and  more  direct  method  of  moving  a  street  car 
than  by  a  cable  drawn  by  a  stationary  engilie 
unless  indeed  it  be  the  street  car  horse  harnessed 
directly  to  his  cai*;  but  the  street  car  horse  could 

scarcely  have  been 
swept  away  more 
quickly  by  an  epi- 
demic than  he  has 
been  by  the  electric 
motor.  The  costly 
cable  is  destined  to 
follow  the  horse 
into  obscurity. 

The  locomotive 
replaced  animal 
power  for  long  dis- 
tance transporta- 
tion, ])ut  there  are 
many  objections  to 
it  for  hauling  small 
cars  at  frequent  in- 
tervals through  the 
streets  of  towns  and 
cities.  For  this  service  animal  power  continued  in 
use  until  the  cable  and  the  electric  current  enabled 
us  to  harness  the  car  to  a  stationary  engine  or  a 
turbine.  The  electric  car  has  replaced  the  horse 
car  and  has  also  revolutionized  street  railway 
service.  By  it  speed  and  comfort  have  been 
increased  and  operating  expenses  reduced. 

The  Problem  Presented.— ^li^ih^r  the  electric 
motor  is  to  continue  its  widening  range  and  take 


1500  Kilowatt  Generator,  driven  by  a  vertical 
engine.  Metropolitan  West  Side  Railway,  Chi- 
cago. 


ELECTRICITY  AS  A  MOTIVE  POWER.  395 

the  place  of  the  steam  locomotive  is  a  very  inter- 
esting and  important  question.  While  the  loco- 
motive is  not  adapted  to  the  conditions  of  street 
railway  traffic,  it  is  possible  that  long  distance 
transportation  cannot  be  met  as  economically 
by  the  motor  as  by  the  locomotive. 

It  is  often  asserted,  and  possibly  truly,  that 
electricity  is  in  its  infancy  and  that  it  only 
awaits  further  comprehension  of  its  mysteries 
to  enable  it  to  be  applied  to  the  solution  of 
every  kind  of  problem.  A  little  further  develop- 
ment, many  believe,  will  relegate  the  steam  loco- 
motive to  the  past  and  add-  unprecedentedly  to 
the  speed  of  trains.  Some  even  predict  that 
the  motor  will  completely  supplant  all  steam 
engines. 

Intelligent  consideration  of  the  subject  requires 
an  examination  of  the  functions  of  electrical 
action,  the  characteristics  of  electrical  apparatus 
and  the  conditions  of  electrical  transmission,  so 
that  we  may  from  these  determine  in  some 
measure  the  possibilities  and  the  limitations  of 
electric  traction. 

The  problem  will  be  thus  generally  treated 
in  the  following  pages,  namely,  the  electrical 
principles  and  laws  which  underlie  the  subject; 
the  application  of  these  in  electric  machines 
and  in  transmission;  the  systems  of  transmis- 
sion and  the  apparatus  suitable  for  railway  ser- 
vice; the  specific  elements  which  go  to  make 
up  an  electric  railway  system,  illustrated  by 
descriptions  of  electric   roads  representing   the 


396  .     RAILWAY  EQUIPMENT. 

varieties  of  service  performed  oy  motors;*  and, 
finally,  an  examination  of  the  application  of  elec- 
tric traction  to  the  conditions  which  prevail  in 
steam  railways,  the  whole  being  concluded  by  a 
comparison  of  the  present  state  of  electric  trac- 
tion with  that  which  has  preceded  it,  followed 
by  a  forecast  of  the  probable  development  of  the 
future. 

ELECTRICAL    PRINCIPLES    AND    LAWS. 

What  Electricity  Does. — The  function  of  elec- 
tricity in  the  operation  of  railways  is  to  receive 
energy  from  an  eugine  (or  other  prime  mover) 
and  to  deliver  it  upon  the  moving  car  in  me- 
chanical form.  The  elements  in  the  system  are: 
(a).  A  prime  mover  (an  engine  or  water-wheel) 
for  the  supply  of  mechanical  energy,  (b).  An 
electric  generator  or  dynamo  for  receiving  the 
mechanical  energy  and  transforming  it  into  elec- 
tric energy,  (c).  A  transmission  circuit  for  con- 
veying the  electric  energy  to  the  point  where  it 
is  to  be  used.  (d).  An  electric  motor  for  receiv- 
ing the  electric  energy  and  transforming  it  into 
mechanical  energy,  suitably  regulated  and  con- 
trolled. 

*In  these  references  the  question  of  the  utilization  of  elec- 
tricity for  the  operation  of  railroads,  other  than  those  for  city 
and  suburban  service  is  referred  to.  Indeed,  the  whole  ques- 
tion of  electricity  from  the  standpoint  of  railroad  men  is,  how 
far  will  electricity  be  able  to  supplant  steam  in  the  operations 
of  railroads  for  handling  general  traffic?  This,  in  its  place 
receives  the  attention  which  it  merits,  as  it  is  with  relation  to 
this  phase  of  the  subject  that  the  whole  question  receives  con- 
sideration here. 


ELECTRICITY  AS  A  MOTIVE  POWER.  51)7 

The  Sources  of  Electric  Currents.  —  Electricity 
may  be  produced  in  a  number  of  ways.  Heat 
also  may  be  derived  from  several  sources,  from 
mechanical  energy — by  friction  or  percussion;  or 
from  chemical  energy — by  combustion;  or  from 
electrical  energy — by  the  passing  of  a  current 
through  a  wire.  Electricity  may  result  from  the 
expenditure  of  mechanical  ex:iergy — by  friction  of 
certain  substances;  or  through  the  agency  of  the 
dynamo;  or  from  chemical  energy — by  the  dis- 
solving of  zinc  in  a  battery;  or  from  heat  energy 
— in  thermal  batteries.  The  two  ordinary  sources 
of  electricity  are  the  dynamo  and  the  battery. 
The  currents  from  the  two  sources  are  of  similar 
nature.  The  only  reason  the  battery  is  not  used 
for  supplying  current  for  lighting  and  power  is 
its  high  cost. 

The  two  conditions  necessary  for  the  flow  of 
current  are,  first,  a  force  for  sending  or  ''pushing" 
the  current  through  the  circuit  called  electro- 
motive force,  and  second,  a  complete  circuit 
through  which  the  current  may  flow.  The  cir- 
cuit is  usually  of  copper  wire,  supported  and 
protected  by  w^ood,  glass,  rubber  or  other  insul- 
ating materials  through  which  current  does  not 
pass.  In  both  the  dynamo  and  the  Imttery  there 
are  two  terminals  between  which  there  is  electro- 
motive force  which  will  send  a  current  through 
a  circuit  if  its  ends  are  connected  to  the  respec- 
tive terminals.  The  strength  of  the  current  is 
determined  by  the  intensity  of  this  force  and  by 
the  resistance  of  the  circuit.     This  is  analogous 


398  RAILWAV  EQUIP2rENT. 

to  the  flow  of  water  in  a  pipe — the  flow  depends 
upon  the  pressure  and  the  resistance  of  the  pipe. 

What  electricit}^  is,  the  cause  of  electro-motive 
force,  the  nature  of  the  electric  current,  are  topics 
Avhich  do  not  directh^  concern  us  here;  neither 
do  the  causes  of  chemical  affinity  and  combus- 
tion, nor  the  reason  that  liquid  water  is  changed 
to  invisible  steam  under  the  influence  of  heat. 
It  is  enough  to  know  the  facts  and  to  appl}^  to  a 
useful  purpose  the  principles  and  laws  which 
have  been  deduced  from  scientific  investigation 
and  experience. 

The  Effects  of  Electric  Current — When  an  elec- 
tric current  flows  through  a  circuit  several  phe- 
nomena may  be  observed,  notably  certain  heating 
and  magnetic  effects. 

The  Heatiyig  Effect. —  Heat  is  produced  in  all 
parts  of  the  circuit  by  the  passage  of  the  cur- 
rent. The  quantity  of  heat  depends  upon  the 
strength  of  the  current  and  upon  the  resistance 
to  its  flow.  The  resistance  depends  upon  the 
material  and  size  of  the  conductor.  If  the  same 
current  pass  through  a  copper  wire,  an  iron 
wire  and  a  carbon  rod,  all  of  the  same  diameter, 
the  copper  will  remain  comparatively  cool,  the 
iron  will  become  warm  and  the  carbon  quite  hot. 
If  the  same  current  pass  through  a  heavy  wire 
and  a  fine  wire  of  one-third  the  cross  section,  the 
heat  produced  in  the  fine  wire  will  be  three  times 
as  great  as  in  an  equal  length  of  the  heavy  wire. 
Loss  of  heat  is  loss  of  energy.  Conductors  are, 
therefore,  made  large  and  of  material  of  high 


ELECTRICITY  A.S'  A  MOTIVE  POwER.  399 

conductivity  (copper),  except  where  heat  is  de- 
sired, when  the  opposite  course  is  followed.  In 
incandescent  lighting,  the  lamp  filament  —  the 
part  of  the  circuit  wherein  heat  is  to  be  gener- 
ated for  producing  incandescence,  is  made  of  a 
fine  carbon  thread,  while  the  wires  to  the  lamp 
are  made  of  copper  wire  of  sufficient  size  to  pre- 
vent the  waste  heat  in  the  wires  from  exceed- 
ing a  small  per  cent,  of  the  useful  heat  in  the 
carbon.  If  the  distance  to  one  lamj)  be  tw^ice 
as  great  as  it  is  to  another  lamp,  the  length  of 
wire  must,  of  course,  be  twice  as  great.  The 
same  size  of  wire  would  involve  twice  the  loss. 
The  same  loss  is  secured  in  the  two  cases  if  the 
cross  section  of  the  wii'e  in  the  larger  circuit  be 
doubled,  making  its  weight  four  times  that  of  the 
wire  required  for  the  lamp  at  half  the  distance. 
In  a  S3^stem  for  the  electrical  transmission  of 
power  the  heating  effect  of  the  current  is  not 
useful.  There  is  not  only  the  loss  of  power,  both 
in  circuits  and  in  machines,  but  the  rise  of  tem- 
perature which  results  may  cause  damage  to 
apparatus  unless  adequate  precautions  are  taken 
in  its  construction  and  operation  to  avoid  undue 
heating. 

The  Magnetic  Effect. — The  space  surrounding  a 
wire  carrying  current  is  a  magnetic  field.  Iron 
filings  tend  to  take  a  definite  position,  and  do  so 
quite  strongly  if  the  current  is  a  large  one.  The 
effect  is  increased  if  the  wire  is  in  the  form  of  a 
coil  so  that  the  current  in  each  of  many  succes- 
sive turns  may  act  upon  the  same  space.   It  is  still 


400 


RAILWAY   EQUIPMEXT. 


further  increased  if  the  coil  surrounds  an  iron  core, 
as  iron  is  much  better  thai]  air  as  a  conductor  for 
the  lines  of  magnetic  force.  The  lines  of  force 
ma}^  be  detected  outside  of  the  core  by  iron  filings, 
as  is  shown  in  the  accompan3dng 
illustration.  If  an  ordinary  piv- 
oted compass  needle  be  placed  in 
the  field  it  will  take  a  direction 
parallel  to  the  lines  of  force  at  that 
point.  If  the  core  be  of  soft  iron, 
and  the  current  be  interrupted,  the 
magnetic  field  vanishes.  If  the  di- 
rection of  the  current  through  the 
wire  be  reversed  the  magnetic  held 
also  reverses,  the  form,  as  indicated 
by  the  filings,  remains  the  same, 
but  the  end  of  the  compass  needle 
which  was  attracted  before  is  now  repelled,  so 
that  the  needle  will  find  stable  equilibrium  when 
it  has  turned  completely  around  and  its  direction 
is  reve]'sed.  In  general  the  strength  of  the  mag- 
netic field,  or  the  magnetic  in- 
duction, is  increased  by  increas- 
ing the  proportion  of  iron  in 
the  magnetic  circuit  and  de- 
creasing the  length  of  air  space. 
A  double  magnet  is  illustrated 
here  in  which  the  upper  ends 
of  the  iron  cores  are  joined 
by  an  iron  yoke.  A  keeper  or  .^pth  or'^uu  ^a 
armature  of  soft  iron  is  placed     magnetic  lines  is  almost 

-  ,  f     ,1  entirely  in  the  Iron  cores", 

near  the    other    ends    of  the     yoke  and  armature. 


Electro  Magnet. 
A  current  through 
a  wire  coil  around 
an  iron  core  makes 
it  a  magnet.  The 
magnetic  field 
causes  irou  filings 
or  a  compass  nee- 
dle to  take  a  defi- 
nite position. 


ELECTRICITY  At^  A  MOTIVE  POWER.  401 

cores.  When  cuiTent  flows  through  the  coils 
the  iron  becomes  a  magnet  and  the  armature  is 
strongly  attracted  toward  the  cores  in  the  coils. 
This  form  of  electro  magnet  is  in  common  use  in 
electric  bells  and  telegraphic  apparatus.  If  the 
cores  in  the  coil  were  removed  the  armature 
would  still  be  attracted,  but  very  weakly.  The 
magnetic  effects  of  currents  and  the  reactions 
between  currents  and  magnets  are  utilized  in  the 
dynamo  and  the  motor. 

Electrical  Units. — Current  is  measured  in  am- 
peres. The  ampere  (corresponding  to  gallons 
per  minute  in  hydraulics)  is  the  current  which 
flows  through  one  ohm  resistance  wlien  the 
pressure  is  one  volt.  The  current  required  by 
ordinary  incandescent  lamps  varies  from  about 
one-half  to  one  ampere.  The  current  taken  by 
an  ordinary  street  car  averages  twenty  to  forty 
amperes,  and  is  usually  much  more  in  starting 
and  on  grades. 

Pressure,  or  electro-motive  force,  is  measured 
in  volts.  The  volt  (corresponding  to  pounds  per 
square  inch  in  hydraulics)  is  the  electro-motive 
force  required  for  sending  one  ampere  through 
a  resistance  of  one  ohm.  The  electro-motive 
force  of  an  ordinary  cell  of  gravity  battery  is 
about  one  volt.  Incandescent  lamps  are  usually 
made  for  about  fifty  or  one  hundred  volts.  The 
ordinary  electro-motive  force  on  street-railway 
circuits  is  five  or  six  hundred  volts. 

Eesistance  is  measured  in  ohms.  The  ohm  is 
the  resistance  through  which  one  volt  will  force 

26    Vol.  1 


402  RAILWAY   EQUIPMENT. 

one  ampere.  One  ohm  is  approximately  the 
resistance  of  one  thousand  feet  of  copper  wire 
one-tenth  of  an  inch  in  diameter  (No.  10  B.  &  S. 
gauge — weight,  thirty-one  pounds*)  or  of  one  mile 
of  copper  wire  .23  inches  in  diameter  (No.  3 
B.  &  S.  gauge — weight,  eight  hundred  and  forty 
pounds). 

Ohm^s  Laiv. — The  current  in  a  circuit  is  found 
by  dividing  the  electro  -  motive  force  by  the 
resistance.! 

TJie  Energy  of  Electric  Currents. —  Energy  is 
required  for  the  production  of  an  electric  cur- 
rent. In  the  battery,  chemical  energy  and  in  the 
dynamo,  mechanical  energy  are  converted  into 
electrical  energy.  The  electrical  energy  re- 
appears in  other  forms — as  heat  in  wires  and 
lamps  and  electric  heaters;  as  mechanical  energy 
in  motors,  or  as  chemical  energy  in  electro- 
plating. In  an  ordinary  electrical  power  system 
part  of  the  heat  produced  by  the  burning  of  coal 
is  wasted   and   part  makes  steam;    part  of  the 

*B.  &  S.  (BroAvn  A:  Sliarpe)  gauge  represents  tlie  American 
standard  gauge. 

Electro-motive  force  E 

f  Current  == '  ,  or  C  =  — ,  or  Amperes  = 

Eesistance  E 

Volts  Volts 

.     Also,  Olims  == -,  and  Volts  =  Amperes  x  Ohms. 

Ohms  Amperes 

Therefore,  if  it  is  required  to  find  what  resistance  will  allow 
fifty  volts  to  produce  a  current  of  three  hundred  amperes,  divide 
the  volts  by  the  amperes. 

Volts  50  1 

Ohms  =: == =  —  Ohm. 

Amperes        300         6 


ELECTRICITV  AS  A  MOTIVE  POWER. 


403 


energy  of  the  steam  is  wasted  and  part  produces 
mechanical  energj^  in  the  cylinder;  part  is  lost 
in  friction  and  part  reaches  the  dynamo:  part  is 
lost  in  heat  in  the  dynamo  and  part  is  delivered 
as  electrical  energy  to  the  circuit;  part  is  wasted 
in  heating  the  wires  and  part  reaches  the  motor; 
part  appears  as  useless  heat  in  the  motor  and  all 
that  is  left  of  the  energy  of  the  coal  after  loss  at 


F/£LI7  POLE 

Finn  CDiL 

Af^MATURE  CDIL 

COMMUTATOR 

GREASEEHX 

SHAFT 

VENTILATIDA/ 

IRON  niscs 

Plf^/ON 


Cross  Section  of  a  Railway  Motor, 


every  step  appears  as  mechanical  energy  deliv- 
ered by  the  motor  shaft.  The  energy  at  any 
point  in  the  system  is  of  course  exactly  equal  to 
the  sum  of  all  the  parts  into  which  it  is  subse- 
quently divided. 

Mechanical  energy  is  measured  in  foot-pounds 
and  mechanical  power  in  foot-pounds  per  minute, 
or  in  horse -power.  Electrical  power  is  measured 
in  horse-power,  or  in  watts.     Seven  hundred  and 


404 


RA IL  WA  Y   EQ TJIPMKNT. 


fortj^-six  watts  equal  one  horse-power.  A  kilo- 
watt is  one  thousand  watts,  or  practically  one 
and  one-third  horse-power.  The  electric  power 
which  is  being  delivered  by  a  dynamo  depends 
upon  two  things,  the  pressure  (electro-motive 
force)  and  the  current.  An  exact  analogue  is 
found  in  a  force  pump  where  the  power  depends 
upon  the  pressure  and  the  quantity  of  water 
pumped,  and  the  horse-power  is  found  by  multi- 
plying the  pounds  pressure  per  square  inch  by 
the  gallons  per  minute  and  dividing  by  seventeen 
hundred  and  fourteen.  The  electric  horse-power 
delivered  by  a  dynamo  is  found  by  multiplying 
the  pressure  in  volts  by  the  current  in  amperes 
(giving  the  watts)  and  dividing  by  seven  hundred 

and  forty-six.  The  output 
in  kilowatts  is  found  by 
dividing  the  number  of 
watts  by  one  thousand. 
The  power  delivered  to  a 
motor  is  similarly  found 
by  multiplying  the 
electro-motive  force  by 
the  amperes.  In  this  case, 
however,  the  current  flows 
against  the  pressure  and 
the  power  is  delivered  to  the  machine  instead  of 
by  it.  A  small  current  at  high  pressure  will 
deliver  the  same  powder  as  a  large  current  at  a 
low  pressure.  Five  amperes  at  one  thousand 
volts  is  equivalent  in  power  to  ten  amperes 
at  Ave  hundred  volts,  or  fifty  amperes  at  one 


Winding  a  Railway  Generator 
Armature. 


ELECTRICITY  A  S  A  MO  TIVE  PO  ^YER.  405 

hundred  volts,  as  the  product  is  in  each  case  five 
thousand  watts,  or  six  and  two-thirds  horse- 
power. The  power  which  appears  as  heat  in 
a  wire  is  similarly  found  b}'  multiplying  the 
amperes  by  the  electro-motive  force  measured 
between  the  ends  of  the  wire.  The  power  is 
equal  also  to  the  square  of  the  number  of 
amperes  multiplied  by  the  ohms  resistance,  or, 

Watts  =  amperes  x  volts  =  amperes^  x  ohms=^ 
C  E  =  C^  R.* 

If  twenty  amperes  flow  through  two  miles  of 
No.  3  B.  &  S.  copper  wire  (two  ohms)  the 

Watts  =-  C^  R  =  400  x  2  =  800  =  1.07  horse- 
powder. 

ELECTRIC   MACHINES. 

Hoiv  Current  is  Producecliyi  the  Dynamo. — There  is 
a  reciprocal  relation  between  electricity  and  mag- 
netism. On  the  one  hand,  a  current  of  electricity 
passed  around  an  iron  core  will  make  a  magnet  of 
the  iron;  on  the  other  hand,  if  under  proper  con- 
ditions a  wire  be  moved  in  a  magnetic  field  or 
near  a  magnet,  a  current  will  be  produced  in  it. 
In  an  ordinary  dynamo  the  magnetic  field  is  pro- 
duced by  a ''  field  "  consisting  of  a  number  of  poles 
or  magnets  of  iron,  which  are  surrounded  by  coils 
of  wire  through  which  currents  are  passed.  The 
magnets  are  joined  at  one  end  b}^  a  solid  and 
heavy  iron  yoke,  and  at  the  other  they  confront 
the  armature.  The  armature  contains  an  iron 
core  on  which  wires  are  placed  parallel  to  the 
armature  shaft,  and  shown  in  the  cross  sectiou 

*  C  stands  for  Current,  li  for  Resistance  and  E  for  Electro- 
Motive  force. 


406 


HAIL  WAY  EQUIPMENT. 


Section  of  a  Dynamo, 
sho-\ving  electro-magnets  or 
fields  and  the  armature 
within,  -which  carries  wires 
(shown  in  cross  section)  at 
the  surface.  The  magnetic 
lines  are  shown  by  dotted 
lines. 


of  the  armature  as  black  dots  in  the  accompany- 
ing illustration.  The  move- 
ment of  a  wire  in  front  of  a 
pole  and  through  the  magnetic 
field  which  lies  between  it  and 
the  armature,  induces  in  the 
wire  a  pressure  or  electro-mo- 
tive force  which  will  produce 
a  current  if  the  ends  of  the 
wire  be  joined.  The  lines  of 
magnetic  force  pass  from  al- 
ternate poles  to  the  armature, 
and  pass  frojn  the  armature 
back  to  the  field  in  the  in- 
termediate poles.  As  a  wire 
passes  in  front  of  a  pole,  the 
course  of  the  electro-motive  force  will  be  in  one 
direction  if  the  pole  be  positive,  and  in  the  other 
direction  if  it  be  negative,  and  as  the  poles  are  of 
alternate  signs,  the  electro-motive  force  will  be 
first  in  one  direction  and  then  in  the  other,  alter- 
nating as  each  pole  is  passed.  If  a  wire  be  laid 
on  the  armature  in  front  of  one  pole  and  is  car- 
ried back  on  the  armature  opposite  the  next  pole, 
so  that  the  bwo  free  ends  of  the  wire  are  at  the 
same  end  of  the  armature,  the  electro-motive 
forces  which  are  induced  by  the  two  adjacent 
poles  under  which  the  wires  simultaneously 
move  will  be  added  together  and  the  electro-mo- 
tive force  on  the  turn  of  Avire  will  be  the  sum  of 
that  on  each  of  the  two  parts.  If  the  wire  be 
wound  in  the  form  of  a  coil  of  several  turns,  it  is 


ELECTRICITY  AS  A  MOTIVE  POWER.  40; 

evident  that  the  electro-motive  force  upon  the 
coil  will  be  the  sum  of  the  electro-motive  forces 
in  the  several  turns. 

The  field  is  designed  to  have  great  magnetic 
strength  with  small  magnetizing  current  by 
making  the  magnetic  circuit  of  iron,  which  is  an 
excellent  conductor  for  the  magnetic  flux,  and 
by  making  the  air  gaps  small.  The  speed  of  the 
dynamo  is  usually  made  as  high  as  the  mechan- 
ical conditions  permit. 

The  electro-motive  force  induced  in  a  coil  of 
wire,  as  has  been  explained,  reverses  in  direc- 
tion whenever  the  coil  passes  in  front  of  a  new 
pole,  the  electro-motive  force  in  the  wire  re- 
verses in  direction,  and  the  current  which  may 
flow  in  it  is  an  alternating  current,  correspond- 
ing to  a  reciprocating  motion.  The  two  ends  of 
the  coil  may  be  connected  to  two  separate  rings, 
on  which  brushes  rest  for  conducting  the  cur- 
rent to  an  external  circuit. 

A  direct  or  continuous  current  is  secured  from 
the  dynamo  by  placing  on  it  a  large  number  of 
coils  and  connecting  them  to  a  commutator.  The 
coils  occupy  many  successive 
positions  on  the  armature  so 
that  at  all  times  there  are  some 
coils  in  which  a  higli  electro- 
motive force  is  being  devel- 
oped, while  other  coils  are  in 
a  position  in  which  little  or  no  coVmSWtXshLlg 
force  is  being  developed,  owing    groove  at  top  of  ueck  for 

,.,...  Tj  ...  attaching   wires  from  ar« 

to  their  intermediate  position    mature. 


408  RAILWAY  EQUIPMENT. 

with  respect  to  the  field  poles.  There  is  a  posi- 
tion with  respect  to  the  fields  in  which  a 
coil  produces  its  maximum  force,  and,  as  the 
armature  turns,  all  the  coils  successively  pass 
through  this  position.  The  ends  of  the  coils  are 
connected  to  bars  of  the  commutator  on  which 
rest  brushes  for  conducting  the  current  to  the 
external  circuit.  As  the  armature  turns,  the 
brushes  make  successive  contact  with  the  vari- 
ous commutator  bars,  and,  through  them,  to  the 
coils  of  the  armature.  The  brushes  are  placed 
at  the  proper  angle  for  connection  to  the  coils 

which  are  giving  an  electro-mo- 

#tive  force,  and  as  the  angular 
position  of  the  brushes  is  not 
changed,  they  are  continually 
connected  with  the  coils  which 
are  in  the  same  position  with 
Commutator,  showing  reference  to  the  poles,  and  are, 
segments  to  which  arma-    therefore,  siviuR  the  same  elec- 

ture  wires  are  connected.  ,•  c  mi 

tro-motive  force,  ihe  current 
in  the  individual  armature  coils  is  an  alternating 
current,  but  current  in  the  external  circuit  is  a 
direct  current  flowing  constantly  in  the  same 
direction. 

Dynamos  may  be  designed  to  give  either  an 
approximately  constant  current  or  an  approxi- 
mately constant  electro-motive  force.  The  lat- 
ter, or  constant  potential  dynamo,  is  ordinarily 
run  at  constant  speed,  and  with  a  constant  field 
current.  If  this  field  current  is  derived  from  the 
dynamo   itself  the  dynamo  is  said   to  be  self- 


ELECTRICITY  AS  A  MOTIVE  POWER. 


409 


excited,  and  if  from  a  separate  source,  separately 
excited.  The  electric-motive  force  of  a  dynamo 
is  determined  by  the  strength  of  field,  the  speed, 
and  the  number  of  wires  which  are  in  series. 
The  latter  element  is  fixed  when  the  machine  is 
designed,  the  speed  is  fixed  by  the  driving  powder, 
and  the  method  of  adjusting  the  force  on  a  ma- 
chine in  operation  is  by  variation  of  the  strength 
of  the  field  by  changing  the  current  through  the 
field.  When  a  dynamo  is  delivering  current,  the 
electro-motive  force  upon  its  terminals  decreases 
as  the  load  increases,  owing  to  the  resistance  of 
the  winding  of  the  armature  and  to  certain  mag- 
netic reactions.  The  force  at  full  load  may  be 
made  equal  to,  or  greater  than  that  at  no  load  by 
an  increase  in  the  exciting  or  magnetizing  cur- 
rent around  the  fields.  This  is  ordinarily  ac- 
complished by  compounding  the  machine,  i.  e., 
placing  upon  the  field  a  second  winding  through 
w^iich  the  main  current  flows  for  the  purpose  of 
adding  the  magnetizing 
effect  of  this  current  to  that 
of  the  regular  shunt  winding. 
This  is  showai  in  the  diagram 
of  a  compound  w^ound  dy- 
namo. The  current  from 
one  brush  w^iich  rests  on  the 
commutator  passes  around  a      a  oomi.uun.i  \\ .  un.i  oyna- 

p  j_i        n    1  1         1  mo— two    field    wimiings.     In 

leW^  turns  upon  the  held  poles       the  fine  wire  the   current   is 

before    going  out    to    the  Cir-       J'ourly  constant  and  >•«  varied 
c)  CI  ^  by  the  rheostat.    The  heavy 

Cuit.      The  finCAvire  "shunt"       winding  carries  the    current 
,.  „  .  .to  the  load,  and  therefore  V3 

Winding    01     many     turns      is      ries  as  the  load  varies. 


410 


RAIL  }YA  Y   EQ  UIPMENT. 


taken  in  a  ^^ parallel"  connection  from  the  cir- 
cuit an  i  passes  through  an  adjustable  resistance 
or  *' rheostat"  by  which  the  held  current  may  be 
i^iried. 

Hoiv  Motion  is  Produced  in  the  Motor. — It  is  well 
known  that  the  opposite  or  unlike  poles  of  two 
magnets  attract,  and  that  like  poles  repel.  The 
production  of  motion  in  the  electric  motor  may 
be  readily  understood  when  it  is  seen  that  the 
field  and  armature  are  in  reality  two  electro- 
magnets, which  are  retained  in  such  a  position 
and  relation  that  a  constant  force  exists  between 
them.     In  the   accompanying  figure  is  shown  a 

two  pole  motor  in  which  the 
field  currents  magnetize  the 
field  poles,  making  the  upper 
pole  positive  and  the  lower 
pole  negative.  Currents  are 
passed  through  the  armature 
wires  in  such  a  way  that  the 
wires  on  the  upper  half  of  the 
armature  (shown  as  circles  in 
the  figure)  carry  current  in 
one  direction,  and  those  on 
the  lower  half  in  the  opposite 
direction.  This  magnetizes 
the  armature,  giving  a  posi- 
tive pole  at  one  side  and  a 
negative  pole  at  the  other.  The  attraction  be- 
tween unlike  poles  and  the  repulsion  between 
like  poles  will  produce  a  tendency  to  rotation.  As 
the   armature  revolves  the  connection  between 


A  Motor.  The  signs  (-}- 
and  —  )  show  poles  formed 
by  currents  in  field  coils 
and  in  armature  Avires.  Ar- 
rows show  attraction  and 
repulsion  between  poles, 
and  the  resulting  rotation. 


ELECTRICITY  AS  A  MOTIVE  POWER.  411 

the  circuit  and  tlie  wires  on  the  armature  is 
changed  (at  the  commutator),  so  that  the  wires 
which  are  on  the  upper  half  of  the  armature  still 
carry  current  in  the  same  direction  as  before,  and 
the  magnetic  poles  remain  fixed  in  the  same  posi- 
tion with  respect  to  the  field,  although  the  arma- 
ture itself  revolves.  In  a  multi-polar  maclii.ie 
there  are  a  number  of  magnetic  poles  formed  by 
the  armature  currents  midway  between  the  field 
poles. 

The  armature  of  a  direct  current  motor  is 
wound  similar  to  that  of  a  direct  current  dynamo 
and  the  connections  to  the  commutator  are  made 
in  the  same  way.  As  the  arma- 
ture revolves  in  front  of  the  field 
poles  of  the  motor,  an  electro- 
motive force  is  generated  in  its 
coils  similar  to  that  which  is  gen- 
erated in  the  coils  of  a  dynamo. 

Armature  Coils  for        tc    i.  i   •  i         i    •  j_    j_i 

Railway  Motor.  J-1  two  machiues  bo  driven  at  the 
same  speed  and  are  excited  by 
equal  field  currents,  so  that  equal  forces  are  pro- 
duced, connections  may  be  made  between  lik(? 
brushes  and  no  current  will  flow  between  the 
machines.  If  the  field  current  of  one  of  the 
machines  be  increased,  its  electro-motive  force 
will  be  increased  above  that  of  the  other  ma- 
chine, and  it  will  send  a  current  back  through 
the  other  machine  and  drive  it  as  a  motor.  If 
the  relative  field  strengths  of  the  machines  be 
changed,  the  second  machine  will  run  as  a  dy- 
namo, and  the  first  machine  as  a  motor.    The 


412 


RAILWAY   EQUIPMENT. 


A  Shunt  Machine. 
The  field  current  is 
Independent  of  the 
main  current. 


motor  fields  may  be  adapted 
for  connection  across  tlie  cir- 
cuit, in  which  case  they  are 
termed  "shunt    motors"   and 


are  adapted  for  running  at  con- 
stant speed.  The  fields  may 
be  connected  in  series  with 
the  armature  so  that  the  field 
strength  varies  with  the  cur- 
rent   flowing,   in   which    case 

they  are  termed  "  series  motors  "  and  are  adapted 

for  variable  speed  work. 
Alternating  current  motors 

are  of  several  types,  the  most 

practical   of  which  are:   the 

synchronous   motor,   which 

has  little  or  no  torque  except 

at  a  definite  speed  (related  to 

the  speed  of  the  generator  by 

the  ratio  of  the   number  of 

motor    poles     to    the    number         ^  series   Machine.     The 

of  generator  poles)  and  which    ^^^^  current  is  the  oniy 

*^  iio'i  1        current  around    the  fields. 

runs  at  that  dennite  speed,    This  is  the  ordinary  cou- 

II  1         J.1  1     ^  J         ,-.^.-.       nection  in  railway  motors. 

whatever  be  the   load   upon 

the  motor  wdthin  its  capacity,  and  the  induction 

motor,  which  may  have  considerable  torque  at 

all  speeds  and  which  decreases  in  speed  as  it  is 

loaded. 


TRANSMISSION. 


General   Characteristics.— Eleciricsii    energy   is 
transmitted  by  a  current  under  pressure,  which 


ELECTRICITY  AS  A  MOTIVE  POWER. 


4i^ 


Armature  of  Eailway  Motor. 
Shaft  Avith  core  or  body  of  thin 
circular  iron  discs  slotted  on  the 
circumference.  Two  coils  are 
partly  in  place. 


has  many  close  analogies  to  the  transmitting  of 
energy  from  a  pump  to  a  water  motor  by  the 
flow  of  water  in  a  pipe.  The  quantity  of  energy 
delivered  depends  upon  the  intensity  of  the  pres- 
sure and  the  quantity  of  the  flow.    The  pressure 

may  vary  over  a  wide 
range,  and  the  current 
required  is  inversely  pro- 
portional to  the  pressure 
for  the  delivery  of  given 
amount  of  energy.  The 
electric  current,  more- 
over, may  be  continuous, 
corresponding  to  the  con- 
tinuous flow  of  water  through  a  pipe,  or  it  may 
be  alternating,  corresponding  to  reciprocating 
motion  or  the  flow  of  water  in  a  pipe  backward 
and  forward  in  response  to  a  piston  at  the  end. 
This  alternation  of  current  may  take  place  slowly 
or  rapidly. 

The  different  pressures  wnich  may  be  employed 
in  a  continuous  current  system  or  in  an  alter- 
nating current  system,  the 
I'ange  in  frequency  which 
]nay  be  used  with  alter- 
nating current,  together 
with  the  different  number 
of  phases  which  may  be 
employed,  evidently  give 
rise  to  a  wide  variety  of 
possible  electrical  systems.  Practice  has  adopted 
a  few  combinations,  which  may  be  regarded  as 


Armature  with  Coils  in  Place. 
Ends  of  wires  are  bent  back  over 
armature;  they  will  be  bent  for- 
ward and  connected  to  the  com- 
mutator. 


414 


RA IL  WA  V  EQ  UI PMENT. 


wire. 

by   a 
rent. 


standard  S5^stems,  which  meet  most  of  the  ordi- 
nary demands. 

Electrical  energy  may  be  distributed,  either  by 
constant  potential  or  by  constant  current.   In  the 

constant  potentia.1  method,  the 
pressure  is  kept  constant,  and 
the  demands  for  different 
amounts  of  power,  either  by 

Armature  complete.    The    ji  •    j.*  £    j.i  i 

coils  are  held  firmly  in  the  the  variatiou  ot  tlio   nuuiber 
slots  by  bands  of  strong  ^f  jamps  or  uiotors,  or  by  the 

variation  of  power  demanded 
motor,  are  met  by  a  variation  of  cur- 
Lamps  or  motors  are  connected  in  ''mul- 
tiple^'or  "parallel"  when  operated  on  this  sys- 
tem. In  the  other  system  the 
current  is  kept  constant,  and 
the  demand  for  additional 
power  is  met  by  an  increase  of 
pressure.  Lamps  or  motors  are 
connected  in  "series"  so  that 
the  same  current  passes 
through  all  the  devices  when 
operated  on  this  system.  The 
constant  current  series  system 
finds  its  common  application  in  arc 
where  the  current  is  maintained  constant  and 
the  pressure  of  the  circuit  is  made  proportional 
to  the  number  of  lamps  to  be  supplied.  Power 
can  be  supplied  from  circuits  of  this  character, 
but  this  system  is  not  in  general  use  for  power 
service  and  finds  practicalh  10  application  in 
railwav  work. 


Armature  Disc,  showing 
slots,  diagram  of  commu- 
tator and  one  coil  in  place 
connected  to  the  commu- 
tator. 


lig 


hting, 


ELECTRICITY  AS  A  MOTIVE  POWEll. 


415 


Railway  Motor,  complete ;  ar- 
mature ill  fields,  lower  half  of 
field  opened  downward,  show- 
ing lower  field  poles. 


Losses  in  Circuits. — Tlie  passage  of  an  electric 
current  through  a  wire  is  accompanied  by  a  loss 
of  power  and  a  reduction 
in  pressure.  Loss  of  power 
is  objectionable,  as  it  in- 
creases the  amount,  and, 
consequently,  the  cost  of 
the  power  which  must  be 
generated;  excessive  reduc- 
tion in  pressure  is  to  be 
avoided  as  it  may  cause 
variations  in  pressure  be- 
yond the  limits  which  are 
admissible  for  constant 
potential  motors.  If  the  pressure  be  too  ]x)W  the 
power  available  may  be  too  small,  or  the  speed 
may  be  too  low;  if  the  pressure  be  too  high  the 
speed  may  be  too  great,  or  there  may  be  flashing 
at  the  commutator. 

The  loss  of  power  depends  upon  the  strength 
of  the  current  and  the  resistance  of  the  circuit. 

The  resistance  of  a  cop- 
per circuit,  in  turn,  de- 
pends upon  the  size  of 
the  wire  and  the  length 
of  the  circuit.  The  loss 
in  power  increases,  there- 
fore, as  the  strength   of 

Motor  ready  for  mounting  on  axle.      i.1 ^  j.  •  j 

^  the  current  increases  and 

as  the  length  of  the  circuit  increases,  and  it  is 
decreased  if  the  conducting  wire  be  made  larger. 
The  loss  does  not  vary  directly  as  the  current. 


416 


RA IL  WA  Y   E  Q  UIPMEX  T. 


but  it  increases  as  the  square  of  the  current; 
thus,  the  loss  of  power  in  a  given  circuit  when  the 
current  is  doubled  is  increased  four-fold. 

The  reduction  of  loss  of  pressure  in  a  circuit 
depends  directly  upon  the  current  strength  and 
upon  the  resistance  of  the  circuit.  The  loss  in 
pressure  is  illustrated  in  the  accompanying  figure 
a,  in  which  a  dynamo  delivers  current  through  a 


^<*/ 


.6 


f 


■so\r 


^o^/" 


y 


ZS}/" 


ss\l 


Y 


EMF 

asr 

LOSS 

size; 

m 

ja 

JOO 

t 

to'i 

1 

/ 

A 

z 

20 

1 

? 

-c 

,, 

3 

10 

2 

4 

f/ 

,, 

-/ 

/O 

4 

/ff 

fi 

/ooo 

4 

to 

I 

■4 

/ 

2O00 

4 

10 

>A 

J 

?df/ 


^5 


as/ 


soV 


^   r- 


so/ 


f^Olf 


wo/ 


If 


The  relatire  cross  section  of  copper  for  delivering  to  motor  the  same 
power  under  different  conditions  of  distance,  loss  and  electro-motive  force, 
is  indicated  by  number  and  thickness  of  wires. 


circuit  consisting  of  two  wires  to  a  motor.  The 
current  delivered  is  one  hundred  amperes,  and 
the  resistance  of  each  of  the  wires  is  one-fourth 
of  an  ohm.  The  pressure  required  for  sending 
one  hundred  amperes  through  one-fourth  ohm  is 
twenty-five  volts.  The  pressure  required  at  the 
dynamo  is  therefore  five  hundred  and  fifty  volts 
for  delivering  five  hundred  volts  at  the  motor 


ELECTRICITY  AS  A  MOTIVE  POWER.  417 

and  overcoming  the  line  resistance.  If  the 
length  of  the  circuit  be  doubled,  as  is  shown  in 
figure  h,  and  the  motor  still  receives  one  hundred 
amperes  at  five  hundred  volts,  it  is  evident  that 
the  pressure  on  the  d3aiamo  must  be  increased  to 
overcome  the  additional  line  resistance.  The  re- 
sistance of  each  wire  now  becomes  one-half  an 
ohm,  for  which  fiftj^  volts  is  required.  The  dyna- 
mo pressure  must  now  be  increased  to  six  hun- 
dred volts,  and  the  loss  in  the  wires  is  doubled. 
If  the  section  of  the  conductors  be  doubled  b}^ 
placing  another  wire  of  the  same  size  in  multiple 
with  the  first,  then  the  pressure  required  for 
overcoming  the  line  resistance  is  one-half  of  that 
required  in  figure  h,  and  is  but  twenty-five  volts  in 
each  side  of  the  circuit.  The  conditions  now,  as 
shown  in  figure  c,  are  similar  to  those  in  the  first 
case.  It  will  be  noted  that  the  same  pressures 
prevail  in  figures  a  and  c,  the  difference  being 
that  when  the  distance  is  doubled,  the  section  of 
the  conductor  must  also  be  doubled,  thus  increas- 
ing the  weight  of  the  copper  four  times.  If  the 
length  of  the  circuit  be  increased  to  twice  that  in 
figure  c,  the  section  of  copper  must  again  be 
doubled  in  order  to  secure  the  same  drop  in 
pressure  between  the  dynamo  and  the  motor. 
The  weight  of  copper  is  now  (figure  d)  increased 
to  sixteen  times  that  in  the  first  case,  while  the 
distance  is  increased  but  fourfold. 

In  each  of  the  above  cases  the  motor  receives 
one  hundred  amperes  at  five  hundred  volts,  or 
fifty  kilowatts.    If  the  pressure  at  the    motor 

27    Vol.  1 


418  RAILWAY  EQUIPMENT. 

were  one  thousand  volts,  the  current  required 
for  the  same  power  is  fifty  amperes.  In  figure  d 
the  drop  in  pressure  is  a  total  of  fifty  volts  when 
one  hundred  amperes  pass  through  four  wires  in 
parallel.  If  one  wire  only  were  used,  the  drop 
would  be  four  times  as  great,  or  two  hundred 
volts.  The  drop  for  a  current  half  as  large,  or 
twenty-five  amperes,  will  be  one  hundred  volts. 
In  figure  e,  where  the  current  delivered  to  the 
motor  is  fifty  amperes  at  one  thousand  volts, 
the  use  of  a  single  conducting  wire  will  therefore 
involve  a  loss  of  one  hundred  volts,  and  wdll 
require  a  generator  pressure  of  eleven  hundred 
volts,  which  is  ten  per  cent,  greater  than  the 
pressure  at  the  motor,  which  is  the  same  per- 
centage as  in  figure  d.  Doubling  the  voltage, 
therefore,  enables  the  same  power  to  be  deliv- 
ered with  the  same  per  cent,  loss  in  pressure  and 
consequently  with  the  same  loss  in  power,  with 
the  use  of  only  one-fourth  of  the  weight  of  cop- 
per. If  the  pressure  of  the  motor  be  increased  to 
two  thousand  volts,  the  current  required  for  the 
same  power  will  be  twenty-five  amperes.  The 
same  per  cent,  drop  will  result,  if  the  drop  in 
each  wire  be  one  hundred  volts  instead  of  fifty 
volts  as  in  figure  e.  The  section  of  wire  in  figure 
/may,  therefore,  be  one-fourth  the  size  of  that  in 
figure  e.  The  weight  is  also  one-fourth  and  is, 
therefore,  the  same  as  that  in  figure  a.  A  com- 
parison of  the  first  and  last  figures  shows  that 
the  same  powder  may  be  delivered  at  four  times 
the  distance,  with  the  same  w^eight  of  copper  and 


ELECTRICITY  AS  A  MOTIVE  POWER.  419 

the  same  loss,  if  the  pressure  be  made  four  times 
as  great.  It  is  evident  that  an  increase  in  the 
amount  of  copper  used  under  any  conditions  wiU 
result  in  a  less  loss  of  power  in  the  conductor. 
Increased  investment  in  copper,  therefore,  leads 
to  a  less  loss  of  power  in  the  circuit.  The  best 
economic  result  is  secured  by  increasing  the  in- 
vestment in  copper  until  a  further  increase  will 
not  be  compensated  by  a  saving  in  power.  This 
condition  is  secured  when  the  interest  on  the 
investment  in  copper  equals  the  cost  of  the 
power  lost  in  circuit. 

General  Conclusions. —  The  following  conclu- 
sions may  be  drawn  from  the  illustrations  which 
have  just  been  given,  showing  the  relations 
between  pressure  and  distance,  and  pressure,  dis- 
tance, cost  and  loss  in  the  circuit  (it  is  assumed 
in  each  case  that  the  same  power  is  delivered  by 
the  circuit): 

For  the  same  loss  and  electro-motive  force,  the 
cost  of  copper  increases  as  the  square  of  the  dis- 
tance. Distances  should,  therefore,  be  as  short 
as  practicable.  A  station  should  be  located  at 
the  middle  of  a  territory  which  it  serves. 

For  the  same  loss  and  distance,  the  cost  of 
copper  varies  inversely  as  the  square  of  the 
electro-motive  force.  Therefore,  the  electro- 
motive force  should  be  as  high  as  practicable. 

For  the  same  loss  and  cost  of  copper,  the 
distance  varies  as  the  electro-motive  force. 
The  distance  to  which  electrical  power  can 
be    transmitted    depends,    therefore,    upon    the 


420  RAILWAY  EQUIPMENT. 

electro-motive  force  which  can  be  used  upon  the 
circuit. 

The  energy  lost  in  the  line  when  one  hundred 
horse-power  is  transmitted  for  one  hour  is  twice 
as  great  as  it  is  when  fifty  horse-power  is  trans- 
mitted for  two  hours.  It  follows,  therefore,  that 
a  line  can  transmit  a  given  quantity  of  energy 
most  efficiently  when  it  is  delivered  uniformly. 
Also,  if  a  given  quantity  of  energy  is  to  be  trans- 
mitted with  a  given  line  efficiency,  the  copper 
required  is  less  if  it  is  delivered  uniformly.* 

Continuous  or  Direct  Current. — In  a  direct  cur- 
rent the  flow  is  constantly  and  uniformly  in  one 
direction,  corresponding  to  the  ordinary  flow  of 
water.  Direct  current  is  used  almost  entirely  in 
electric  railway  work.  For  constant  potential 
distribution  continuous  current  is  commonly 
used  at  one  hundred  and  ten  volts,  two  hundred 
and  twenty  volts  and  five  hundred  volts.  The 
principal  limitation  of  the  one  hundred  and  ten 
volt  system  is  distance,  as  the  cost  of  copper 
becomes  very  great  in  the  large  conductors  which 
are  required  if  the  current  is  to  be  carried  to  any 
considerable  distance.  The  two  hundred  and 
twenty  volt  system  is  commonly  used  for  oper- 
ating lamps  on  the  three-wire  plan,  in  which  one 
hundred  and  ten  volt  lamps  are  placed  between 
the  middle  and  each  outside  Avire.  This  system 
can  be  extended  in  general  three  or  four  times  as 
far  as  the  one  hundred  and  ten  volt  svstem  with 


*For  furtlier  reference   to   electrical   energy  and  tlie  cost 
thereof,  see  tables  embraced  in  Appendix  C  of  this  volume. 


ELECTRICITY  AS  A  MOTIVE  POWER.  421 

the  same  cost  of  conductors.  The  five  hundred 
volt  continuous  current  system  is  that  commonly 
used  for  street  railway  and  general  power  distri- 
bution. This  pressure,  which  is  often  increased 
to  six  hundred  or  even  seven  hundred  volts,  is 
sufficiently  high  to  render  the  conductors  of 
moderate  cost  for  operating  over  ordinary  dis- 
tances. These  pressures  may  be  handled  with- 
out much  difficulty  in  the  generators  and  motors. 
Tl!e  commutator,  by  means  of  which  the  current 
is  taken  from  the  armature  of  the  dynamo  and 
introduced  into  the  armature  of  the  motor,  is  at 
best  difficult  and  costly  to  construct.  It  is  the 
part  most  likely  to  wear  and  give  trouble,  and 
the  difficulties  increase  very  rapidly  if  the  pres- 
sure is  much  above  five  hundred  volts. 

Alternating  Current. — An  alternating  current  is 
one  which  reverses  in  direction  with  a  frequency 
equal  to  the  product  of  the  number  of  poles  in 
the  dynamo  multiplied  by  the  speed.  A  twelve- 
pole  machine  running  at  two  hundred  and  fifty 
revolutions,  produces  current  with  a  frequency 
of  twelve  times  two  hundred  and  fifty,  or  three 
thousand  alternations  per  minute.  The  frequen- 
cies in  common  use  for  power  work  range 
from  three  thousand  to  seven  thousand  two  hun- 
dred alternations,  and  for  lighting  work  may 
be  as  high  as  sixteen  thousand  alternations  per 
minute. 

Alternating  current  possesses  a  characteristic 
which  is  of  great  utility  in  the  transmission  of 
electrical  energy  to  considerable  distances.     It 


422 


RA IL  WA  Y    EQ  UIPMEXT. 


is  impracticable  for  many  uses  to  utilize  high 
pressures;  for  instance,  in  incandescent  lighting 
the  lamp  cannot  be  readily  made  for  a  pressure 
higher  than   about  one  hundred  volts.     On  the 

other  hand,  the  cost  of  conduc- 
tors for  delivering  current  at 
one  or  two  hundred  volts  be- 
comes very  large  if  the  dis- 
tance be  more  than  a  few  thou- 
sand feet.  The  desirable  Sys- 
tem is  one  in  which  the  energy 
can  be  transmitted  at  high 
pressure  and  utilized  at  low 
pressure.  The  direct  current 
does  not  admit  of  any  ready 
and  convenient  transforma- 
tion. The  alternating  current, 
on  the  other  hand,  through  the 
agency  of  the  transformer  or 
converter,  enables  this  to  be 
accomplished. 

An  alternating  current  trans- 
former in  its  essential  elements 
consists  of  two  windings,  each 
of  one  or  more  coils  of  copper 
wire  wound  around  a  core  of 
iron,  usually  of  thin  plates.  If  one  of  the  windings 
or  sets  of  coils  be  connected  to  a  circuit  on  which 
Uie  pressure  is,  say,  one  thousand  volts,  an  alter- 
nating magnetism  is  produced  in  the  iron,  which, 
m  turn  produces  an  electro-motive  force  in  the 
other,  or  secondary  winding.    The  electro-motive 


Three  Hundred  and 
Seventy-Five  Kilowatt 
(500  horse-power)  Raising 
Transformer.  Wires  from 
generator  are  connected 
to  large  terminals  on 
marble  block  at  rear  end ; 
wires  to  high  tension  line 
(15,000  volts)  are  connected 
to  terminals  at  front.  The 
flat  coils  are  placed  side 
by  side  and  spread  apart 
at  the  ends  to  allow  circu- 
lation of  oil  between  the 
coils. 


ELECTRICITY  AS  A  MOTIVE  POWER. 


423 


Raising  Transformer  Case. 


force  produced  in  this 
winding  is  proportional 
to  the  number  of  turns 
of  wire  in  it.  If  the 
turns  be  one-tenth  of 
those  in  the  primary 
windings,  the  electro- 
motive force  is  one- 
tenth  of  that  on  the 
primar3%  or  one  hun- 
dred volts.  The  current 
is  increased  in  the  same 
proportion  the  pressure 
is  decreased.     Thus,  if 

the  primary  current  be  five  amperes  at  one  thou- 
sand volts  the  secondary  current  will  be  fifty 
amperes  at  one  hundred  volts.  The  product  of 
the  current  and  pressure  giving  the  energy  in 
watts  is  the  same  in  the  primary  and  secondary.* 
The  transformer,  therefore,  supplies  a  means  by 
which  a  small  current  transmitted  at  a  high  pres- 
sure may  be  transformed  into  a  large  current  at 
a  low  pressure.  The  transformer  has  no  moving 
nor  open  contacts,  there  is  no  mechanical  motion, 
it  requires  no  attention,  and  is  simple  and  effi- 
cient in  operation.  The  alternating  current  sys- 
tem has  given  a  wide  extension  to  incandescent 


*  Tliere  is  a  slight  reduction,  both  in  pressure  and  in  cur- 
rent, which  renders  the  number  of  watts  delivered  from  the 
secondary  slightly  less  than  those  supplied  to  the  primary. 
The  ratio  at  full  load  is  usually  from  ninety-five  to  ninety- 
eight  per  cent. 


424 


RAIL  ^yA  Y   EQ  UIPMENT. , 


lighting  where  the  service  is  extended  or  scat- 
tered, as  the  direct  current  low  voltage  system  is 
economical  only  over  a  short  distance.  Almost  all 
of  the  installations  for  delivering  power  in  large 
quantities  from  water  power  employ  alternating 
current.  The  alternating  current  transformer 
may  be  used  in  connection  with  the  generator 
for  increasing  the  pressure.   It  is  often  most  con- 


Four  Hundred  Kilowatt  (535  horse-power)  Kotary  Transformer,  showing 
small  starting  motor  on  end  of  shaft  for  bringing  armature  to  normal  speed; 
collector  rings,  on  right  end,  for  receiving  alternating  current;  commutator, 
on  left  end,  for  delivering  direct  current  to  railway  circuits. 

venient  to  wind  the  generator  for  an  electro- 
motive force  of  a  few  hundred  volts  and  then 
raise  the  pressure  by  raising  transformers  to  sev- 
eral thousand  volts,  depending  upon  the  distance 
of  transmission,  then  reducing  it  by  other  trans- 
formers for  supplying  light  or  motors. 

The  alternating  current  system  may  involve 
one  or  more  currents  differing  in  phase.     Two 


ELECTRICITY  AS  A  MOTIVE  POWER. 


425 


alternating  currents  are  said  to  differ  in  phase 
b}^  ninety  degrees  when  the  maximum  value  of 
one  occurs  at  the  time  of  the  zero  value  of  the 
other.  This  has  a  mechanical  analogy  in  two 
cranks  at  right  angles.  This  system  is  also 
termed  a  two -phase  system  or  quarter  -  phase 
system.  In  a  three-phase  system  there  are  three 
currents  differing  equally  in  phase  and  corre- 
sponding to  the  cranks  on  the  shaft  of  a  three- 
cylinder  engine.  The  transmission  of  power  by 
direct  current  may   be    likened  to   mechanical 


Four  Hundred  Kilowatt  Rotary  Transformer  Armature,  with  arma- 
ture for  starting  motor. 


transmission  by  a  belt  which  is  in  continuous 
motion  in  the  same  direction.  Alternating  cur- 
rent may  be  likened  to  a  reciprocating  motion 
acting  upon  a  crank.  A  single-phase  system  cor- 
responds to  a  single  crank,  while  a  polyphase 
system  corresponds  to  a  mechanical  system  in 
which  two  or  more  cranks  are  used.  The  analogy 
may  be  carried  further,  as  the  increased  facility 
in  starting  and  the  uniformity  of  action  which  is 
found  when  several  cranks  are  used  also  char- 
acterize the  use  of  polyphase  currents.     Three 


42G 


RA IL  WA  Y   E  Q  UIPMENl . 


or  more  wires  '.wf^  required   for  carrying   poly- 
phase currents. 

Alternating  Current  and  Direct  Current. —  The 
advantages  of  alternating  current  for  transmis- 
sion can  be  secured  for  the  operation  of  direct 
current  apparatus  by  the  use  of  a  machine  for 
transforming  alternatiug  into  direct  current. 
This  transformation  could  be  made  by  employ- 


IDtVfmve  TPAMSFOflMlHS 


/\L  T£f>NA  T£  CUR/ICNT  C£/V£0ATOt 


YAismG  Tmi^sroffMEfis 


H/BH  T£f^SION  LWC 


mi.WY  Tfi/^Nsra/rME/l 


Alteinaiiiig  Current  System  supplying  rotary  transformers  which 
deliver  direct  current  to  the  trolley  system. 


ing  an  alternating  current  motor  which  drives 
a  direct  current  generator.  The  two  machines 
may  be  simplified  by  placing  the  two  windings 
ui3on  one  armature  running  in  one  field.  The 
arrangement  may  be  further  simplified  by  having 
but  one  machine  with  one  winding  and  making 
suitable  connections  to  rings  for  supplying  the 
alternating  current  and  other  connections  to  a 
commutator  for  delivering    direct    current,     A 


ELECTRICITY  AS  A  MOTIVE  POWER.  427 

machine  with  this  double  function  is  termed 
a  rotary  transformer  or  rotary  converter.  A 
system  of  this  kind  is  shown  in  the  accompany- 
ing illustration  in  which  an  alternating  current 
generator  delivering  current  at  a  low  pressure 
supplies  raising  transformers  which  deliver  a  high 
electro-motive  force  to  a  transmission  circuit. 
At  the  distant  end  of  this  circuit  the  pressure  is 
reduced  by  lowering  transformers  and  alternating 
current  is  supplied  to  a  rotary  transformer.  This 
in  turn  delivers  direct  current,  which  may  be  used 
for  operating  railway  cars  or  other  service. 

THE    LIMITATIONS    OF   ELECTRICAL   APPARATUS. 

The  query  often  arises,  what  it  is  that  limits 
the  capacity  of  electrical  apparatus;  why  is  it 
that  dynamos  and  motors  built  for  a  given  power 
cannot  yield  a  greater  power;  and  why  cannot 
current  be  carried  to  any  distance  desired.  There 
are  characteristics  of  machines  and  of  circuits, 
depending  primarily  upon  the  properties  and 
characteristics  of  the  materials  of  which  thej^ 
are  composed  and  the  electrical  principles  upon 
which  they  are  based,  which  place  positive  limits 
upon  the  performance  which  can  be  secured  from 
them. 

The  Dynamo. — The  dynamo  is  limited  in  its  out- 
put by  several  conditions.  The  output  is  equal  to 
the  electro-motive  force  multiplied  by  the  num- 
ber of  amperes.  The  first  depends  upon  the  field 
strength  and  upon  the  speed.  The  field  strength 
is  limited  by  the  magnetic  saturation  of  the  iron 


428 


RAILWAY   EQUIPMENT. 


of  which  it  is  composed.  Iron  possesses  a  fairly 
definite  limiting  capacity  for  magnetic  induction 
and,  beyond  a  certain  point,  the  induction  in- 
creases in  strength  very  slowly  as  the  field  cur- 
rent is  increased.  The  strength  of  the  field  is, 
therefore,  limited  by  the  magnetic  characteristics 
of  the  iron.  The  speed  is  fixed  by  mechanical 
limits,  such  as  connection  to  the  driving  power 
and  strength  of  materials.     The  limitations  of 


Three  800  Kilowatt  Railway  Generators,  connected  to  horizontal  engines. 
North  and  West  Chicago  Railway. 


the  dynamo  in  electro-motive  force  are  encoun- 
tered in  the  design  of  the  machine,  i.  e.,  by  speed 
and  by  the  properties  of  iron.  The  limitation  in 
the  current,  which  is  the  other  element  which 
determines  the  output  of  the  dynamo,  is  fixed 
not  by  the  design,  but  the  operation  of  the  ma-- 
chine.  As  the  current  in  the  dynamo  increases, 
the  loss  in  the  armature  conductors  increases, 
thus  raising  the  temperature.  An  increase  of 
current  beyond  a  certain  amount  will  affect  the 


ELECTRICITY  AS  A  MOTIVE  POWER.  429 

commutation  of  direct  current  machines.  It  is 
essential,  therefore,  in  operation,  not  to  load  the 
dynamo  so  that  an  unsafe  temperature  is  reached, 
or  bad  sparking  on  the  commutator  occurs. 

The  Motor. — The  limitations  of  the  motor  are 
very  similar  to  those  of  the  dynamo.  In  design, 
the  permeability  of  the  iron  limits  its  capacity  as 
a  magnet,  so  that  a  certain  definite  cross  section 
and  weight  of  iron  are  required  for  developing 
the  required  electro-motive  force.  The  speed 
must  be  within  limits  which  are  readily  utilized. 
In  operation  the  electrical  limits  are  commuta- 
tion and  heating.  Excessive  current  will  be 
destructive  to  the  machine  by  overheating  the 
conductors  and  burning  the  insulation,  and  by 
causing  sparking  and  burning  at  the  brushes. 

Speed. — The  speed  of  trains  is  limited  by  the 
power  available  and  by  mechanical  conditions 
which  are  largely  independent  of  the  source  of 
power  used;  for  example,  the  strength  of  mate- 
rials and  safety.  The  amount  of  power  which 
can  be  used  is  dependent  upon  the  co-efficient  of 
friction  and  upon  the  weight  upon  the  drivers. 
The  power  is  also  limited  by  the  capacity  of  the 
motors,  and  the  size 
of  the  motors  is  often 
limited  by  the  size  of 
the  trucks  on  which 
they  are  placed.  Speed 
also  enters  into  the 
problem  of  delivering 
current  to  the  car.     At  street  Kan^^li^tor. 


480  RAILWAY    EQUIPMENT. 

very  high  speeds  the  mechanical  connections  for 
carrying  current  to  the  car  are  difficult  to  main- 
tain especially  with  the  large  currents  which  are 
required  for  heavy  work. 

The  Line. — On  a  line  the  elements  which  limit 
the  power  that  may  be  transmitted  are  loss  of 
power  and  loss  of  pressure.  The  loss  in  power 
depends  principally  upon  the  niean  load  upon 
the  station,  while  the  loss  in  pressure  is  greatest 
during  the  maximum  load.  It  may  occur  that  a 
greater  loss  of  power  is  permissible  than  is  prac- 
ticable on  account  of  the  drop  in  pressure  which 
would  occur  during  the  maximum  load.  Trans- 
mission is  limited  by  the  cost  required  for  long 
distances.  Th  distance  which  can  be  economi- 
cally traversed  depends  upon  the  pressure  which 
can  be  used  in  the  receiving  apparatus.  This  in 
turn  is  limited  by  the  capacity  of  the  receiving 
apparatus  in  point  of  insulation  and  safety.  An 
electric  current  can  certainly  be  conveyed  over 
any  distance  for  transmitting  any  amount  of 
power,  provided  no  limit  be  placed  upon  the  cost 
o^f  conductors. 

ELECTRICAL    SYSTEMS    FOR    RAILWAY    SERVICE. 

The  electrical  systems  which  are  in  use  or  are 
available  for  railway  work  are: 

The  Direct  Current  Systems,  viz.:  direct  fed 
systems;  the  booster  system;  the  three-wired 
system,   and  storage  batteries. 

The  Alternating  Current-Direct  Current  Sys- 
tem. 


ELECTRICITY  AS  A  MOTIVE  POWER.  431 

The  Alternating  Current  System. 
The  elements  and  the  characteristics  of  these  va- 
rious systems  will  be  considered  in  regular  order. 

Dh^ed  Current  Sy steins. 

In  direct  or  continuous  current  systems  both  gen- 
erators and  motors  are  wound  for  direct  current; 
the  motors  on  each  car  receive  current  in  parallel 
from  the  line.  Variations  may  be  used  in  the  trans- 
mission by  adopting  one  of  several  arrangements. 

Direct  Feeding. — The  generators  supply  current 
to  two  conductors  or  systems  of  conductors  which 
lead  directly  to  the  motors.  This  is  the  ordinary 
system  in  street  railway  service  and  on  suburban 
roads.  The  generators  in  the  station  are  usually 
connected  in  multiple  to  two  conductors  or  bus 
bars,  one  of  which  is  connected  directly  to  the 
track  and  the  other  supplies  the  trolley  line 
through  heavy  wires  called  feeders.  The  genera- 
tors are  compounded  to  give  an  increase  in  press- 
ure or  electro-motive  force  on  the  bus  bars  as  the 
load  increases,  thus  compensating  for  the  drop  in 
pressure  on  the  lines  with  heavy  load  and  main- 
taining a  fairly  constant  pressure  at  the  motors. 
If  there  were  but  one  car  in  operation  it  is  quite 
possible  to  adjust  the  electro-motive  force  of  the 
generator  so  as  to  maintain  a  constant  force  at 
the  car,  although  the  current  varies  and  the  dis- 
tance from  the  station  is  constantly  changing. 
It  is  evidently  not  possible  if  there  be  more  than 
one  car  on  the  line  to  maintain  a  constant  press- 
ure at  each,  for  if  the  pressure  at  the  station  be 


432  RAIL  WAV  EQUIPMENT. 

properly  adjusted  for  one  car  it  will  not  be  correct 
for  the  other  cars.  If  the  conductors  are  single 
wires,  it  is  evident  that  the  sections  near  the  sta- 
tion must  carry  current  for  all  the  cars,  and  that 
each  section  carries  current  for  the  cars  which 
are  beyond  it.  The  pressure  becomes  less  and 
less  on  the  successive  cars  as  they  are  farther 
from  the  station.  The  pressure  may  be  raised  at 
the  distant  cars  by  running  a  separate  conductor 
from  the  station  to  the  trolley  line  at  the  distant 
point.  If  there  be  two  cars  at  distances  of,  say 
one  and  two  miles  respectively,  it  is  evident  that 
the  cross  section  of  the  longer  wire  should  be 
twice  as  great  as  that  of  the  shorter  one  in  order 
that  a  uniform  electro-motive  force  of  five  hun- 
dred volts  may  result  from  a  station  electro-mo- 
tive force  of  five  hundred  and  fifty  volts.*  This 
uniform  drop  of  fifty  volts  occurs  only  when  the 
currents  on  the  two  feeders  are  equal  and  of  a 
definite  amount.  If  the  currents  are  less  the 
drop  is  less  than  fifty  volts,  and  a  less  station 
pressure  is  required.  If  the  motors  take  a  varia- 
ble current,  then  it  is  impossible  to  keep  the 
pressures  constant  or  equal  unless  the  station 
pressure  is  suitably  varied  for  each  feeder.  The 
ends  of  the  feeders  may  be  connected  to  a  com- 
mon trolley  line  or  to  separate  sections  of  trolley 
wire,  as  shown  in  the  accompanying  diagrams. 
When  a  car  passes  away  from  the  feeding  point  so 
that  the  current  is  carried  by  the  trolley  line,  the 
resistance  of  the  circuit  increases  and  a  greater 

*  See  a  and  c  in  illustration  on  page  416. 


ELECTRICITY  AS  A  MOTIVE  POWER. 


433 


drop  results.  It  is,  therefore,  impossible  to  se- 
cure an  absolutely  uniform  pressure  at  a  number 
of  cars  which  are  continually  changing  in  location 
and  in  demands 
for  current.  The 
pressure  can  be 
kept,  however, 
within  practical 
limits  by  com- 
pounding the 


TiTiTZl     TROLLEY    SrSTEM    AND    PAIL  R£TUR/V. 


F£eD£R5 

rmuEY 


TFiOLLlY       ClHCOlT     SUPPLIES       BY     rCE^ZftS: 


r£EOCPS 

Tffoury 


TirOt.l.£y      £11/ 1  BED     /  fYTO      S  eCT  I  O/i/S. 


reeocus 

TKOLLSr 


generators  to 
give  an  increased 
electro-motive 
force  as  the  load 
increases  and  by 
running  feeders 
each  of  p  r  o  p  e  r 
size  for  the  aver- 
age load  it  car- 
ries directly  to 
the  different  sec- 
tions of  the  line. 
Not  only  does  the  load  change,  due  to  the 
wide  variations  in  the  current  taken  by  indi- 
vidual cars,  but  the  position  of  the  cars  is  con- 
tinually shifting.  They  may  be  uniformly  dis- 
tributed at  one  time,  and  then  bunched  together 
at  one  part  of  the  line,  thus  greatly  overload- 
ing the  feeders  to  that  point  while  the  other 
feeders  are  comparatively  idle.  This  system 
is  simple  and  effective;  its  limitation  is  the 
short  distance  to  which  it  can  be  economically 

28    Vol.  1 


'/-ifl££    V^iR£      SyST&M. 


Direct  Current  Feeder  Systems. 


434 


RA IL  WA  Y   EQ UTPMENT. 


extended.  It  may  be  observed  that  the  maximum 
drop  or  loss  of  pressure  allowable  in  the  conduc- 
tors cannot  exceed  the  limits  within  which  the 
motor  can  be  satisfactorilj^  operated;  for  one 
motor  may  be  at  a  point  near  the  station  w^here 
it  receives  the  full  pressure,  while  another  car 
may  be  at  a  distant  point  wdiere  the  maximum 
reduction  of  pressure  results.  A  motor  there- 
fore, is  liable  to  receive  any  pressure  between 
the  maximum  supplied  to  the  system  and  the 
minimum  at  the  end  of  the  circuit. 

The  Booster  Stjstem. — In  the  preceding  explan- 
ation of  the  direct  feeding  system,  it  is  evident 
that  the  pressure  on  each  of  the  feeders  running 
from  the  station  to  different  points  in  the  system 
should  be  increased  in  proportion  to  the  current 
flowing  in  that  feeder,  thus  compensating  for  the 
loss  in  each  feeder  and  causing  it  to  deliver  a 
constant  pressure  to  the  trolley  line,  independent 
of  the  loads  and  pressures  upon  other  feeders. 

This  could  be  ac- 
complished by  sup- 
plying each  feeder 
from  a  separate 
dynamo  com- 
pounded to  com- 
pensate for  the 
losses  in  it.  This 
is,  however,  objec- 
r^v,     „    ^  A.r■^     ..r.    .   A-     K      tlouablc for several 

Three  Hundred  Kilowatt  Booster  driven  by 

motor;  fields  on  same  bed  plate  and  arma-  reaSOUS.        AuiOUg 

tures  on  same  shaft.    The  field  of  the  motor  ,-,  |  rvf  ori 

is  removed  iu  order  to  show  its  armature.  tiiem  may  De  nOteQ 


ELECTRICITY  AS  A  MOTIVE  POWER.  435 

the  division  of  the  station  into  a  number  of  small 
units,  instead  of  a  few  large  ones,  and  the  in- 
creased generator  capacity  demanded,  as  the 
d3mamo  for  each  feeder  must  have  a  capacity 
for  the  maximum  load  upon  that  feeder.  The 
load  is  not  usually  equally  distributed  through- 
out the  systems,  but  the  maximum  is  first  on 
one  section  and  then  on  another,  so  that  if 
separate  dynamos  are  provided  for  each  section 
their  aggregate  capacity  would  be  much  in  excess 
of  the  average  load  upon  the  station.  In  the 
booster  system,  a  separate  .machine  is  placed  on 
a  feeder  which  increases  the  pressure  in  propor- 
tion to  the  current.  The  field  winding  and  the 
armature  of  this  machine  are  connected  in  series 
with  the  circuit  so  that  an  increased  current  in- 
creases the  field  strength  and  consequently  also 
the  electro-motive  force  upon  the  armature.  The 
proportions  are  made  such  that  the  increase  in 
pressure  is  just  sufficient  to  overcome  the  losses  in 
the  circuit,  so  that  a  constant  pressure  is  main- 
tained at  the  end  of  the  feeder.  Power  sufficient 
for  the  motors  is  generated  in  the  main  machines 
in  the  station,  which  may  be  similar  to  those  in 
a  station  in  which  no  boosters  are  used,  while 
power  equivalent  to  that  lost  in  each  feeder  is 
supplied  by  the  booster  in  that  feeder.  The 
booster  system  makes  practical  the  use  of  much 
greater  loss  in  conductors  than  is  otherwise  per- 
missible. It  has  been  explained  that  in  the  direct 
fed  system  the  drop  in  pressure  cannot  exceed  the 
allowable  variation  of  pressure  upon  the  motors. 


43(5  RAILWAY  EQUIPMENT. 

In  the  booster  sj^stem  the  pressure  upon  the  bus 
bars  in  the  station  is  kept  practically  constant, 
also  the  pressure  upon  the  trolley  line.  The 
booster  machine  may  introduce  an  electro-motive 
force  equal  to  fifty  or  one  hundred  per  cent,  of 
that  on  the  bus  bars,  and  if  this  pressure  is  lost 
in  the  conducting  system,  the  pressure  at  the 
motors  does  not  vary  beyond  narrow  limits.  If 
the  range  of  voltage  allowed  upon  a  motor  is, 
say,  between  five  and  six  hundred  volts,  then  the 
maximum  drop  allowable  is  one  hundred  volts  in 
the  direct  fed  system.  If  a  booster  be  used,  the 
drop  on  a  long  circuit  may  be  two  or  three  hun- 
dred volts,  in  which  case  the  pressure  at  the 
station  would  be  raised  to,  say,  seven  or  eight 
hundred  volts,  in  order  to  give  five  hundred  at 
the  motor.  The  size  of  the  feeder  could  be 
reduced  to  one-half  or  one-third  of  that  which 
would  be  required  for  one  hundred  volts  drop. 
The  best  relation  is  that  in  which  the  saving  in 
the  cost  of  feeders  is  just  balanced  by  the  cost  of 
installation  and  operation  of  the  boosters.  These 
elements  involve  a  number  of  conditions,  such  as 
distance,  quantity  of  power,  cost  of  copper,  cost 
of  apparatus,  fuel  and  attendance,  which  vary  in 
different  cases.  In  general,  however,  the  booster 
system  is  more  economical  than  the  direct  fed 
system  when  the  distance  is  more  than  five  to 
ten  miles.  The  booster  may  be  driven  from  the 
same  source  of  power  that  operates  the  main 
dynamos,  or  it  may  be  driven  by  a  motor  which 
is  supplied  with  current  from  the  main  generators. 


ELECTRICIT Y  AS  A  MO TIVE  PO  WER.  437 

The  load  upon  the  booster  varies  approximately 
as  the  square  of  the  current  strength  in  a  feeder 
with  usualh^  sudden  fluctuations.  Its  mean  load 
is  generally  small,  say,  twenty  to  fifty  per  cent, 
of  its  maximum  load.  These  characteristics  make 
it  usually  inefficient  to  operate  a  booster  from  a 
separate  engine  on  account  of  the  low  efficiency 
and  the  poor  speed  regulation  of  the  engine  under 
this  service.  It  is  best,  therefore,  to  make  the 
booster  load  part  of  the  load  upon  the  main 
engines,  either  by  supplying  the  power  directly 
from  them  or  hj  receiving  it  through  the  main 
generator  and  a  motor.  A  booster  motor  and 
dynamo  may  be  direct  coupled  and  placed  upon 
one  bed  plate,  thus  making  a  simple  and  compact 
arrangement. 

The  Three -Wire  System. — The  three-wire  sys- 
tem is  in  common  use  in  direct  current  central 
station  plants.  Three  conductors  are  run  from 
the  station.  The  pressure  between  two  of  the 
conductors  in  such  plants  is  usually  two  hundred 
and  twenty  volts,  and  between  the  third  conduc- 
tor and  either  of  the  others,  one  hundred  and  ten 
volts.  In  a  three- wire  railway  system  there  are 
really  two  ordinary  systems,  involving  two  sets 
of  generators  and  two  systems  of  circuits,  each  at 
about  five  hundred  volts.  The  pressure  between 
the  two  trolley  wires  is  double  this  amount,  or 
about  one  thousand  volts.  If  the  two  circuits  are 
equally  loaded  the  current  will  pass  from  one 
trolley  wire  to  the  rail,  through  the  motors  which 
may  be  connected  to  that  circuit.   It  will  then  be 


438  RAILWAY  EQUIPMENT. 

returned  through  the  motors  connected  to  the 
other  system  to  the  second  trolley  wire.  The 
current  flowing  from  the  station  for  the  two  sets 
of  motors  is,  therefore,  of  the  same  strength  that 
would  be  required  for  operating  one  set  only,  and 
the  pressure  is  one  thousand  volts.  The  theoret- 
ical saving  in  conductors  is  seventy-five  per  cent, 
as  two  instead  of  four  conductors  are  required, 
each  of  half  the  section.  In  practice,  however, 
the  advantages  are  not  so  much  as  would  appear. 
The  rail  return  circuit  which  exists  without  addi- 
tional cost  is  but  slightly  utilized,  so  that  the 
actual  saving  in  copper  investment  is  much  re- 
duced. The  complication  of  having  two  sets  of 
generating  apparatus  and  two  conducting  sys- 
tems, and  the  tendency  to  unbalance  an  inequal- 
ity on  the  two  circuits  in  a  railway  system,  in 
which  the  cars  on  the  two  systems  are  constantly 
varjdng  in  position,  introduce  practical  difficul- 
ties which  often  more  than  compensate  for  the 
reduced  cost. 

Sto}xige  Batteries. — The  storage  battery  in  an 
electrical  system  is  similar  to  a  reservoir  in  a  gas 
plant.  Each  may  be  used  while  production  and 
consumption  are  both  in  progress  for  maintain- 
ing a  constant  supply  to  the  service  during  vari- 
ations in  output  of  generating  plant,  or  it  may 
supply  a  varying  service  from  a  generating  plant 
of  constant  output.  On  the  other  hand,  it  may 
receive  its  charge  at  one  time  and  supply  the 
service  when  the  generator  is  not  in  operation. 
In  an  electrical  system  the  storage  battery  may 


ELECTRICI T  Y  A  S  A  MO  TIVE  PO  WER .  439 

be  placed  in  the  central  station,  or  at  sub-stations, 
or  on  the  cars.  Its  function  in  the  main  station 
is  to  provide  for  wide  fluctuations  in  load  with 
a  power  plant  having  a  capacit}^  equal  to  the 
average  instead  of  the  maximum  demand  of  the 
sj^stem,  and  also  for  supplying  current  in  case  of 
accident  to  the  generating  apparatus.  In  the 
sub-station  its  function  is  similar  to  that  in  the 
main  station,  the  transmission  line  being  con- 
sidered as  a  part  of  the  generating  apparatus. 
It  is  evident  that  when  a  battery  is  used  the  cir- 
cuits may  be  installed  for  conve3dng  the  average 
load  continuously.  A  line  which  is  to  deliver  a 
certain  number  of  horse-power  hours  continu- 
ously and  uniformly  is  much  smaller  than  one 
which  delivers  the  same  aggregate  energy  but  in 
fluctuating  amount.  If  one  hundred  horse-power 
is  delivered  continuously  for  twenty-four  hours, 
the  size  of  conductor  for  the  same  loss  is  only 
about  one-fourth  as  large  as  would  be  required 
for  delivering  an  average  of  two  hundred  horse- 
power for  twelve  hours  if  the  load  is  varying 
during  that  time  between  naught  and  four  or 
five  hundred  horse-power.  The  storage  battery 
on  a  car  effects  similar  advantages  in  generating 
station  and  transmission  circuits,  and  also  enables 
the  car  to  be  self  dependent  in  case  of  accident 
to  generatiug  station  or  transmission  lines,  also 
for  short  distances  wliere  the  trolley  wire  cannot 
be  run.  The  theoretical  advantages  of  the  stor- 
age battery  are  very  considerable  as  an  auxiliary 
in  a  railway  system.     The  cost  for  installation. 


440  ^       RAILWAY  EQUIPMENT. 

attendance  and  repairs,  and  the  weight,  are  the 
main  points  Avhich  have  prevented  its  wide  nse 
in  railway  plants. 

Alternatmg  Cu7'rent-Di7'ect  Current  System. 

This  system  finds  its  field  where  distances  are 
greater  than  can  be  economically  covered  by 
simple  direct-current  systems.  An  alternating 
current  generator  supplies  a  current  which  may 
be  transmitted  at  high  pressure,  reduced  to  low 
pressure  and  transformed  by  rotary  transformers 
in  sub-stations  into  direct  current,  which  is  then 
supplied  to  the  motors  precisely  as  it  would  be  if 
the  direct  current  had  been  produced  by  an  ordi- 
nary direct-current  generator.  Thus,  the  energy 
for  the  various  sub-stations  is  supplied  from  one 
central  station  in  preference  to  generating  it  in 
several  stations.  This  system  is,  therefore,  of  ad- 
vantage when  the  cost  of  producing  power  at  a 
main  central  station  and  transmitting  it  through 
the  alternating  current  apparatus  to  the  sub- 
stations is  less  than  it  would  be  to  generate  the 
power  separately  in  the  several  stations.  There 
may  be  conditions,  such  as  the  existence  of  water 
power,  which  render  the  cost  of  the  power  at  the 
m?an  station  much  less  than  it  would  be  if  pro- 
duced in  the  several  sub-stations.  This  system  is 
in  operation  in  a  number  of  plants,  notably  at 
Niagara  Falls,  where  the  five  thousand  horse- 
power generators  of  the  Niagara  Falls  Power 
Company  supply  rotary  transformers  for  railway 
service  both  at  Niasrara  Falls  and  Buffalo. 


ELECTRICITY  AS  A  MOTIVE  POWER.  441 

Alternating  Cu7Tent  System. 

General  Characteristics. —  The  alternating  cur- 
rent system  is  far  superior  for  transmission.  Its 
extension,  however,  in  practical  lines  for  railway 
work  has  been  handicapped  by  the  alternating  cur- 
rent motor.  The  problems  involved  in  the  alter- 
nating current  motor  may  be  appreciated  by  refer- 
ring again  to  the  mechanical  analogies  to  which 
attention  has  been  called.  An  alternating  cur- 
rent system  of  one  or  more  phases  may  be  likened 


*  T£M/jvT  cuRff/f/r.  etNtwuat 


Alieruatiug  Current  System  supplying  polyphase  current  by  two  trolleys 
and  rail  return  to  alternating  current  motors  on  the  cars. 

to  a  uniformly  revolving  shaft  with  one  or  more 
cranks  which  are  to  impart  motion  to  a  second 
shaft.  The  mechanical  difficulties  which  would 
be  involved  in  starting,  in  running  and  carrying 
load  at  variable  speed  upon  the  second  shaft  from 
the  cranks  upon  the  first  shaft,  can  readily  be 
appreciated,  especially  when  comparison  is  made 
with  a  belt  connection  between  pulleys  on  the 
two  shafts,  in  which  case  a  tightening  of  the 
belt,  although  it  may  be  attended  by  momentary 
losses,  involves  no  serious  difficulty.     It  is  also 


442 


RAIL  WA  Y   EQUIPMENT. 


evident   that  the   operation   with   two  or  more 
cranks  is  mnch  more  feasil)le  than  with  a  single 

crank.  Tlie  analo- 
gies hold  with  the 
corresponding 
electrical  appara- 
tus, although  the 
alternating  cur- 
rent is  much  more 
tractable  than  the 
cranks,  as  there  is 
an  elasticity  in 
the  electrical  ap- 
paratus which  is 
wanting  in  the 
mechanical  ana- 
logue. 

Alternating  cur- 
rent motors  are  in 
general  of  two  types  —  the  synchronous  motor 
and  the  induction  motor.  The  synchronous  mo- 
tor cannot  be  used  for  speeds  less  than  its  normal 
or  synchronous  speed  and  has  usually  not  suffi- 
cient power  to  bring  itself  up  to  this  speed,  but 
must  be  provided  with  some  auxiliarj^  arrange- 
ment for  starting  and  gaining  its  proper  speed 
before  it  is  able  to  run  itself  and  carry  a  load.  In 
operation  it  runs  at  a  constant  speed,  and  when 
overloaded  its  speed  falls  and  it  comes  to  rest. 
The  synchronous  motor  is  not  directly  adapted 
to  railway  work  as  it  runs  at  a  constant  speed. 
It  is  theoretically  possible  to  introduce   some 


Induction  Motor;  primary,  or  stationary  ele- 
ment, showing  coils  for  receiving  the  current 
from  the  circuit. 


ELECTRICITY  AS  A  MOTIVE  POWER.  443 

method  of  variable  speed  transformation  by 
which  the  motor  running  at  a  constant  speed 
may  operate  the  car  axle  at  a  variable  speed. 
A^nother  objection  to  the  synchronous  motor  is 
its  tendency  to  fall  from  synchronism  if  the 
source  of  power  be  removed  for  a  moment, 
through  a  bad  contact  or  break  in  the  circuit. 

The  Induction  Motor, — The  induction  motor  is 
extremely  simple  in  its  mechanical  construction. 
It  consists  of  two  elements,  one  of  which  is  con- 
nected to  the  supph^  cir- 
^^^^^^^^         cuit  and  receives  current 
^^^^^^^BjjM.        in  its  windings.   The  cur- 

^^^^^3^^SS_  ^'^^-^^   ^^^   ^^^^  winding   of 

(— B===^^S[(r^^^*)  the  other  element  is  in- 

^"^^^^^gijl^lll  duced  from  the  current 

^^^^^^^^K»  in   the   primary,  similar 

"^^^^^^^^^  to  the  induced  currents 

~^^^^^^^^  ill  l\iQ  secondarv  coil  of 

Induction  Motor;    secondary,  or  "  .. 

revolving  element,  showing  copper       a  tranSlOmier.       i  llO  COllS 

':.?hfc,7r?inu";":';,'iL';;- '"''     on  the  secondary  element 

are  completely  closed  or 
short-circuited  and  there  is  no  electrical  contact 
with  the  supply  circuit.  One  of  the  windings, 
usually  the  primary,  is  placed  upon  the  outside 
or  stationary  part  of  the  motor  and  in  one  type 
the  secondary  or  armature  requires  no  commu- 
tator or  contact  of  any  kind  for  making  electrical 
connection.  In  one  method  of  regulation  of  this 
motor,  a  resistance  is  placed  in  the  circuit  of  the 
secondary  which  may  l)e  varied  with  correspond- 
ing changes  in  the  speed  or  power  of  the  motor. 


444 


RAILWAY  EQUIPMENT. 


The  resistance  is  usually  placed  outside  of  the 
motor  and  connected  with  it  bj^  suitable  wires. 
In  this  case,  connection  is  made  to  the  windings 
of  the  armature  by  brushes  resting  on  rings  con- 
nected to  the  winding.  Th6  mechanical  sim- 
plicity of  the  induction  motor  in  its  absence  of 

commutator  and 
usually  of  all  open 
or  moving  contacts 
is  particularly  de- 
sirable in  railway 
work.  The  induc- 
tion motor  has, 
however,  met  but 
little  progress  in 
the  practical  rail- 
way field.  The  rea- 
son for  this  is  found 
in  its  electrical 
characteristics.  It 
requires  for  its  suc- 
cessful operation 
two-phase  or  three-phase  currents.  There  are 
methods  of  operating  an  induction  motor  b}^ 
single-phase  currents,  but  in  general  they  add 
considerably  to  the  quantity  of  apparatus,  reduce 
the  output  of  the  motor,  low^er  the  efhciency  and 
greatly  impair  the  performance  at  low  speeds. 
The  currents  of  more  than  one-phase  require 
more  than  two  conductors,  so  there  must  be  at 
least  two  conductors  besides  the  rail  return  for 
supplying  the  required  currents  to  a  car.     This 


Alternating  Current  Induction  Motor 
Complete. 


ELECTRICITY  AS  A  MOTIVE  POWER.  445 

requirement  has  been  especially  disagreeable  in 
street  car  work  in  cities  and  cannot  be  conven- 
iently met  on  suburban  lines  where  the  cars  are 
to  run  through  the  city  streets.  In  cross-country 
and  heavy  work  these  objections  do  not  hold.  A 
double  trolley  line  can  be  adopted  with  success, 
except,  possibly,  at  very  high  speed.  If  the  cur- 
rent is  conducted  by  additional  rails,  it  is,  of 
course,  necessary  to  add  two  rails.  This  increases 
the  difficulties  at  crossings  and  in  repairs  to  the 
track. 

The  theoretical  and  practical  evolution  of  the 
alternating  current  motor  has  been  slow  and 
difficult  in  comparison  with  direct  current  appar- 
atus. Much  labor  has  been  expended  upon  a 
single-phase  motor  Avith  no  practical  outcome  as 
far  as  railway  service  is  concerned.  The  induc- 
tion motor  is  essentially  a  constant  speed  motor. 
Its  tendency  is  to  run  at  a  certain  definite  speed, 
depending  upon  the  ratio  of  the  number  of  its 
poles  to  those  of  the  generator  from  which  its 
current  is  derived.  Without  load  the  speed  is 
practically  the  synchronous  or  theoretical  speed. 
As  the  motor  is  loaded  the  speed  falls,  slowly  at 
first  and  then  more  rapidly.  The  characteristics 
at  low  speed  can  be  varied  by  design  in  different 
motors.  For  operation  at  variable  speeds,  as  is 
required  in  railway  work,  there  are  two  ordinary 
methods  of  regulation;  one  is  the  introduction 
of  a  variable  resistance  in  the  secondary  element 
of  the  motor,  the  other  is  a  change  in  the  pressure 
or  electro-motive  force  supplied  to  the  motor  with 


446  RAIL^^^Ay   EOUIPMEiM 


no  change  ir  the  secondary  element.  In  regu- 
lation by  change  of  secondary  resistance,  an 
increased  starting  torque  is  sjciired  by  the  intro- 
duction of  a  resistance  in  the  secondary  element. 
The  torque  at  any  speed  depends  upon  the  amount 
of  this  resistance,  which  is,  therefore,  varied  ac- 
cording to  the  requirements.  The  efficiency  of 
the  motor  cannot  exceed  the  percentage  which 
the  actual  speed  bears  to  the  synchronous  speed. 
At  one-tliird  speed,  for  instance,  the  efficiency 
cannot  exceed  thirty-three  per  cent.  Moreover, 
as  the  current  and  electro-motive  force  are  not 
in  phase,  that  is,  their  maximum  values  do  not 
occur  at  the  same  time,  but  the  current  lags 
behind  the  electro-motive  force,  the  true  energy 
delivered  to  the  motor  is  less  than  the  product 
of  the  current  and  volts.  This  renders  the 
apparent  efficiency  less  than  the  true  efficiency. 
It  is,  therefore,  obvious  that  the  motor  is  not 
adapted  to  running  at  low  speeds,  as  is  required 
if  the  motor  must  be  frequently  started. 

In  the  second  method  of  regulation,  in  which 
no  resistance  is  introduced  in  the  secondary,  the 
electro-motive  force  supplied  to  the  motor  is  va- 
ried. The  motor  is  so  designed  that  the  torque 
is  greatest  at  starting  and  constantly  decreases 
as  the  speed  is  increased,  when  the  voltage  is 
maintained  constant.  The  starting  torque  may 
be  four  or  five  times  the  full  load  torque  and 
the  starting  current  is  increased  in  a  greater 
ratio.  The  starting  torque  and  current  are, 
therefore,  much  greater  than  are  desired.     They 


ELECTRICITY  AS  A  MOIli'E  P(>^\ER.  ^1/ 

are  reduced  by  a  reduction  in  the  pressure  ap- 
plied. A  variable  voltage  may  be  secured  from 
a  transformer  arranged  to  deliver  a  variable 
voltage  to  the  motor.  In  this  manner  the  motor 
may  be  adjusted  to  give  any  desired  torque  at 
any  speed  over  a  wide  range.  The  same  general 
characteristics  of  apparent  efficiency,  or  the 
ratio  between  the  output  in  horse-power  and 
the  apparent  horse-power  supplied,  and  also 
the  true  efficiency  of  the  motor,  or  the  ratio 
between  the  output  and  the  actual  horse-power 
supplied,  are  found  with  this  method  of  regula- 
tion that  belong  to  the  motor  regulated  by  second- 
ary resistance.  The  efficiency  and  the  apparent 
efficiency  are,  however,  in  general  greater  in 
the  motor  constr^'^^ted  without  an  adjustable 
secondary. 

What  has  been  7^id  concerning  the  inefficient 
performance  of  the  induction  motor  applies  pai'- 
ticularly  to  low  speeds.  When  running  near  its 
synchronous  speed  an  induction  motor  shows  a 
performance  about  equal  to  that  of  the  best 
direct  current  motors.  The  characteristics  of 
the  induction  motor,  therefore,  adapt  it  to  those 
classes  of  railway  work  in  which  starting  is  not 
often  required  and  in  which  a  high  and  fairly 
constant  speed  is  required  during  a  large  portion 
of  the  time,  so  that  the  motor  is  operated  at 
high  and  constant  speed  where  its  efficiency  is 
high.  Special  methods  have  been  proposed  for 
improving  the  operation  at  low  speeds.  Among 
these  are  the  operation  of  two  motors,  one  being 


448  RAILWAV  EQUIPMENT. 

connected  to  the  line  and  the  second  being  sup- 
plied from  the  secondary  of  the  first  motor.  In 
this  arrangement  both  motors  tend  to  run  at  half 
their  normal  speed.  This  connection  is  used  until 
half  speed  is  reached,  when  both  motors  are 
directly  connected  to  the  circuit.  The  regulation 
is  secured  by  an  adjustable  resistance  in  the 
secondary  of  the  second  motor  when  they  are 
connected  in  tandem  and  by  resistance  in  the 
secondaries  of  both  motors  when  they  are  oper- 
ating in  parallel.  Another  method  of  favorable 
operation  at  low  speed  is  an  arrangement  of  the 
windings  of  the  motor  so  as  to  secure  different 
numbers  of  poles.  If,  for  example,  a  four-pole 
motor  be  changed  to  an  eight-pole  motor  it  will 
tend  to  run  at  half  speed.  If  changed  to  a  twelve- 
pole  motor,  it  Avill  tend  to  run  at  one-third  speed. 
Such  a  motor  would,  therefore,  be  arranged  to 
operate  by  many  poles  for  slow  speeds  and 
changed  to  few  poles  for  high  speeds.  Other 
special  methods  are  theoretically  possible,  such 
as  a  device  for  changing  the  number  of  alterna- 
tions of  the  current  to  correspond  with  the  speed 
required.  No  apparatus  for  accomplishing  this 
has,  however,  been  presented.  These  methods  of 
securing  a  reduced  spoed  are  in  a  measure  effec- 
tive. The  current  and  the  power  required  for 
producing  a  torque  under  given  conditions  are 
materially  reduced.  There  is,  however,  a  sacri- 
fice in  the  simplicity  of  the  apparatus  and  in  the 
controlling  devices.  The  ideal  arrangement  is  a 
gearing  of  variable  ratio,  by  which  the  axle  could 


ELECTRICITY  AS  A  MOTIVE  POWER.  449 

be  run  at  any  desired  speea  from  a  motor  run- 
ning at  a  constant  speed. 

Conclusions.  —  There  appears  to  be  no  funda- 
mental obstacle  to  the  use  of  the  alternating 
current  induction  motor  for  railway  work.  It 
secures  the  advantages  of  the  lower  cost  of  alter- 
nating current  generators  and  transmission  cir- 
cuits and  in  general  a  simpler  construction  of 
motor.  The  electrical  characteristics  of  the 
motor  adapt  it  for  operation  where  a  fairly  con- 
stant speed  is  required  and  the  proportion  of  the 
time  employed  in  starting  is  small.  This  is  usu- 
ally the  condition  where  distances  are  great  and 
the  high  tension  transmission  circuits  which  are 
practicable  with  alternating  currents  are  espe- 
cially desired.  One  of  the  principal  mechanical 
disadvantages  is  that  a  double  system  of  conduct- 
ing circuits  must  be  employed. 

There  is  little  doubt  but  that  the  alternating 
current  motor  would  be  largely  used  in  railway 
work  had  not  the  direct  current  motor  secured  the 
field  first.  At  the  present  time  the  direct  current 
motor  has  the  prestige  and  the  advantages  of 
practical  experience  and  evolution  during  many 
years  of  wide  and  varied  service.  It  fills  its  field 
so  well  that  the  requirements  of  the  alternating 
current  motor  are  not  merely  that  it  shall  equal 
wdiat  the  direct  current  motor  was  in  its  early 
days,  but  that  it  shall  nov/  perform  better  than 
its  rival  the  most  difficult  and  exacting  classes  of 
service. 

29    Vol.  1 


450  RAILWAY   EQUIPMENT. 

COMPARISON    OF    SYSTEMS. 

The  choice  of  a  system  for  operating  a  given 
railroad  cannot  be  definiteh^  stated,  as  there  are 
so  many  local  conditions  which  affect  in  different 
degrees  the  cost  of  the  various  systems.  For 
example,  the  booster  system  maintains  a  proper 
pressure  at  the  end  of  a  distant  line  by  raising  the 
pressure  at  the  station  and  allowing  a  very  large 
loss  in  the  conducting  wire.  The  aggregate 
amount  of  power  lost  in  the  wire  depends  of 
course,  not  upon  the  maximum,  but  upon  the 
average  current  which  is  carried.  If  the  service 
be  intermittent,  so  that  the  average  load  is  not 
more  than  half  the  maximum  load,  tho  loss  of 
power  in  the  ware  is  only  about  one-third  or 
one-fourth  what  it  would  be  if  the  maximum 
load  were  delivered  continuously.  The  cost  of 
the  power  lost  in  the  wire  depends  upon  the 
cost  of  producing  power.  It  may  be  large  if 
expensive  coal  is  used,  or  it  may  be  negligible  if 
water  power  is  available.  If  the  load  were  con- 
stant and  the  cost  of  power  high,  it  may  be  more 
economical  to  put  in  large  conductors,  so  the 
loss  would  be  small,  and  feed  directly  from  the 
main  machine  without  using  boosters.  The  fol- 
lowing general  rules  are  laid  down  as  being  help- 
ful in  forming  a  general  idea  of  the  field  covered 
by  the  different  systems  of  distribution,  with  a 
full  appreciation  of  the  variations  w^hich  different 
local  conditions  may  demand.  The  direct  fed 
two-wire  system  should  be  used  for  distances  from 
the  power  house  not  exceeding  five  to  eight  miles. 


ELECTRICITY  Afi  A  MOTIVE  POWER.  451 

The  booster  system  should  be  used  for  distances 
from  the  power  house  of  five  to  ten  miles,  where 
the  service  is  heavy  and  power  cheap;  and  for 
distances  of  fifteen  to  twenty  miles  where  the 
service  is  light  and  intermittent.  The  high  ten- 
sion alternating  current  transmission,  with  rotary 
transformer  sub-stations  and  direct  current  dis- 
tribution^ should  be  used  for  distances  greater 
than  those  named  above.  The  high  tension  alter- 
nating current  transmission  and  distribution,  finds 
its  best  field  in  operating  roads  where  trains  are 
run  between  distant  points,  making  few  stops. 

For  long  distances  and  heavy  service  the  cost 
of  the  systems  using  high  tension  alternating 
current,  should  be  compared  with  the  cost  of 
operating  two  or  more  stations  by  the  direct  fed 
or  the  booster  system.  The  items  of  expense 
between  the  dynamo  and  the  car  in  the  several 
systems  are  as  follows: 

Direct  Current-Direct  Fed  System. — Interest 
on  investment  in  copper  conductors  and  cost  of 
power  lost  in  conductors. 

Booster  System.— Interest  on  cost  of  booster 
dynamos  and  copper  conductors,  and  the  cost  of 
the  power  lost  in  conductors. 

Alternating  Current-Direct  Current  System. — 
Interest  on  the  cost  of  raising  transformers,  high 
tension  line,  rotary  transformers  and  sub-station 
building  and  copper  conductors  for  supplying  the 
direct  current  to  the  trolley,  together  with  the 
cost  of  power  lost  in  the  copper  conductors,  the 
raising  and  lowering  transformers  and  the  rotary 


452  RAILWAY   EQUIPMENT, 

transformers,  and  the  cost  of  attendance  at  the 
rotary  sub-station.  The  cost  of  an  alternating 
current  generator  is  slightly  less  than  that  of  a 
direct  current  generator,  which  favors  this  sys- 
tem. 

Alternating  Current  System. — Interest  on  in- 
vestment in  raising  transformers  (unless  the 
dynamo  be  wound  for  high  tension),  high  tension 
line  and  lowering  transformers,  and  copper  con- 
ductors in  the  trolley  system,  together  with  the 
cost  of  power  lost  in  the  transmission  system. 
In  this  system  it  is  necessary  to  install  lowering 
transformers  at  numerous  points  along  the  line 
in  order  to  avoid  high  cost  of  copper  in  the  low 
tension  trolley  system.  Unless  the  service  is  fre- 
quent this  will  require  a  sufficient  capacity  in 
lowering  transformers  in  each  of  the  main  sec- 
tions of  the  line  for  the  whole  load  which  may 
come  on  that  section,  so  that  the  aggregate 
capacity  of  lowering  transformers  may  greatly 
exceed  the  average  power  which  is  to  be  supplied. 

High  Tension  System  with  High  Tension  Trol- 
ley Line. — -Interest  on  investment  in  raising  trans- 
formers (if  they  be  used),  high  tension  conducting 
circuit,  extra  cost  of  installing  double  trolley  line 
for  high  tension  and  additional  cost  of  lowering 
transformers  for  car  equipment,  together  with 
cost  of  power  lost  in  transmission.  The  extra 
cost  of  installation  for  high  tension  circuits  and 
the  increased  liability  to  break-downs  in  carrying 
high  tension  to  the  car  must  be  charged  against 
this  system. 


ELECTRICITY  AS  A  MOTIVE  POWER.  453 

For  roads  of  thirty  to  forty  miles  in  length, 
with  a  fairly  heavy  service,  it  v^ill  probably  be 
found  that  the  cost  of  operation,  including  inter- 
est on  investment,  will  not  differ  widely  whether 
the  operation  be  by  one  station  with  rotary  sub- 
station; or  one  station  with  high  tension  trans- 
mission and  low  tension  distribution  to  alternating 
current  motors;  or  one  station  with  high  tension 
distribution  to  the  cars;  or  two  power  stations 
with  boosters.  Within  certain  limits,  therefore, 
the  choice  of  the  system  for  use  depends  upon 
the  exact  and  definite  schedule  of  service  and  the 
cost  of  materials  and  of  power. 

THE   ELEMENTS    OF    AN    ELECTRIC    RAILWAY. 

A  consideration  of  the  elements  in  an  engineer- 
ing plant  should  logically  deal  primarily  with 
the  established  best 
practice.  But  in  elec- 
tric railway  service  the 
practice  of  the  present 
is  new,  the  conditions, 
the  methods,  and  much 
of  the  apparatus,  have 
been  evolved  within  the 
past  few  years.  Not 
only  have  the  new  elec- 
tric elements  undergone 
rapid  development,  but 
even  the  steam  engine, 

the    oldest    and     best-        '^  Kodak"  Engine  direct  connected 

established  part  of  the  sTrllS™/''"''''""*'''""'"''' 


454  RAILWAY  EQUIPMENT. 

system,  has  been  greatl}^  modified  in  design  to 
meet  the  new  requirements  of  higher  speed, 
closer  regulation  and  increased  economy  over 
wide  ranges  of  load.  The  application  of  elec- 
tricity to  railway  work  will  be  set  forth  by  con- 
sidering in  detail  the  various  elements  of  the 
system  in  order,  depending  largely  upon  the  pres- 
ent practice  in  large  stations,  and  in  other  cases 
stating  the  engineering  conditions  and  require- 
ments. 

The  direct  current  system  will  be  considered 
first,  and  then  the  modifications  which  result  if 
alternating  current  is  used  in  part  or  in  whole. 

The  Power  Station. 

Location,  Etc.  —  The  number  and  location  of 
power  stations  depend  upon  the  source  of  power 
and  local  conditions.  If  water  power  is  avail- 
able, the  position  is  fixed;  if  steam  is  used,  the 
number  of  stations  which  will  secure  the  cheap- 
est operation  is  to  be  determined  from  the  length 
of  the  line,  the  amount  of  traffic,  the  location  of 
grades  and  other  conditions  which  influence  the 
cost  of  transmission  circuits.  The  exact  location 
of  a  station,  which  electrical  considerations  would 
place  at  the  middle  of  the  line  to  be  operated, 
may  be  determined  by  convenience  of  obtaining 
fuel  and  w^ater  for  both  steam  and  condensing 
purposes. 

The  Size  of  Unit  to  be  used  in  the  station  is  a 
mechanical  rather  than  an  electrical  question. 
The  cost  is  in  general  less  per  horse-power  the 


ELECTRICITY  AS  A  MOTIVE  POWER,  455 

larger  the  size  of  engine  and  dynamo;  the  oper- 
ating expense  is  also  less,  and  the  efficiency 
greater.  It  is  usual  to  have  at  least  three  or  four 
units,  one  of  which  may  be  held  as  a  reserve. 
The  dynamo  can  be  made  for  any  output  at  any 
speed  within  very  wide  limits,  the  cost  per  horse- 
power decreasing  as  the  output  is  larger  or  the 
speed  is  greater.  The  dynamo  is  not  generally 
the  element  which  is  first  fixed,  but  its  size  and 
speed  are  adapted  on  one  hand  to  the  require- 
ments upon  the  station,  and  on  the  other  hand  to 
the  speed  and  capacity  of  the  power  by  which 
it  is  to  be  driven.  Close  speed  regulation  of  a 
railway  generator  is  very  important  for  good  ser- 
vice. The  speed  governor  should  act  quickly 
during  the  continual  fluctuations  of  load,  and 
must  protect  against  excessive  speed  even  when 
an  overload  is  thrown  off  instantly.  The  wide  va- 
riations in  load  make  good  efficiency  over  a  wide 
range  of  more  importance  than  high  efficiency 
simply,  at  full  load.  The  sudden  fluctuations  in 
load  necessitate  a  heavy  fly-wheel,  which  should 
preferably  be  located  near  the  dynamo  or  be  a 
part  of  it.  The  five  thousand  horse-power  dyna- 
mos of  the  Niagara  Falls  Power  Company  have 
a  revolving  element  of  eighty  thousand  pounds, 
nearly  twelve  feet  in  diameter,  which  makes  two 
hundred  and  fifty  revolutions  per  minute.  A 
sudden  load  acts  directly  upon  this  great  fly- 
wheel. If  the  fly-wheel  were  placed  elsewhere 
enormous  strains  would  be  brought  upon  tlie 
shaft. 


456 


RAILWAY   EQUIPMENT. 


The  Generator. 
Types. — The  dynamo  may  be  connected  with 
the  engine  by  belt  or  rope,  or  it  may  be  direct 
coupled,  either  by  a  flexible  or  fixed  coupling 
between  the  dynamo  shaft  and  the  driving  shaft, 
each  shaft  having  its  own  bearings,  or  the  dynamo 
armature  may  be  mounted  directly  upon  the 
extended  end  of  the  driving  shaft  with  or  without 
additional  bearings.  Until  within  a  few  years 
almost  all  dynamos  for  railway  work  were  belt- 
driven,  running  at  a  speed  higher  than  the  driving 
shaft.  Frequently  several  dynamos  were  run 
from  one  main  or  jack  shaft.  At  the  present 
time  it  is  the  almost  universal  practice  to  employ 
direct  connected  machines. 

Engine  Type. — The   armature  of  the  modern 
engine-type    railway   generator  is   mounted 

directly  upon  the 
engine  shaft.  The 
machine  has  a  diam- 
eter w^hich  is  large 
in  proportion  to  its 
length,  so  that  only 
a  short  extension  of 
the  shaft  is  neces- 
sary. The  poles  vary 
from  four  or  six  in 
small  sizes  to  twelve 
or  more  in  large 
sizes,  and  are  usually 

•Four  Hundred  Kilowatt  Generator  Direct      of    Cast    stCCl,    boltcd 
Connected  to  Vertical  Engine     Brooklvn  i   •     ^      1 1  i 

Bridge  Power  Plant.  Or  Cast  lUtO  the  y  OKC, 


ELECTRICITY  AS  A  MOTIVE  POWER.  457 

or  of  sheet  steel  plates  riveted  together  into 
compact  pole  pieces  and  cast  into  the  yoke.  The 
field  is  split  vertically  into  halves,  which  may 
])e  removed  from  the  armature  by  sliding  them 
directly  back  from  it.  The  armature  is  built  on 
a  substantial  open  cast  hub,  which  is  keyed 
securely  to  the  engine  shaft  and  carries  on  its 
outer  circumference  laminated  iron  plates,  placed 
in  planes  at  right  angles  to  the  shaft.  These 
laminated  plates  are  dove -tailed  or  otherwise 
fastened  to  the  iron  hub.  They  are  provided 
with  longitudinal  slots,  or  deep  grooves  at  the 
circumference,  in  which  the  copper  conductors, 
either  of  wire  or  copper  strap  of  suitable  form, 
are  placed.  The  coils  are  insulated  separately 
by  a  covering  of  insulating  material  before  they 
are  placed  in  the  slots.  The  conductors  are  con- 
nected to  the  commutator,  which  may  be  built 
on  a  separate  bush  and  forced  on  to  an  extension 
of  the  hub  or  spider  forming  the  central  part 
of  the  armature,  x^round  the  commutator  are 
placed  brush-holders  equal  to  the  number  of  field 
poles.  Each  brush-holder  carries  a  number  of 
brushes,  usually  of  carbon,  which  rest  with  a 
moderate  tension  against  the  commutator.  Alter- 
nate brush-holders  are  connected  to  the  positive 
lead  and  the  remaining  ones  to  the  negative  lead. 
The  brush-holders  are  supported  from  a  common 
ring,  which  may  be  rotated  slightly,  thus  adjust- 
ing the  angular  position  of  all  the  brushes 
simultaneously.  The  mechanical  elements  of  a 
large  generator  are  extremely  simple  compared 


458 


RAILWAY   EQUIPMENT. 


Armature  of  Engine  Type  Railway  Gen- 
erator, showing  winding  connected  to  com- 
mutator. 


with  the  elements 
of  other  apparatus, 
such  as  an  engine. 
The  construction  is 
of  iron  and  copper, 
with  insulating 
material  which  has 
been  developed  to 
a  degree  of  perfec- 
tion that  renders  it 
ample  for  standing 
very  severe  condi- 
tions. There  is  no 
moving  part  except 
the  rotating  armature  and  nothing  to  wear  ex- 
cept the  brushes  and  commutator.  The  brushes 
are  readily  adjusted  and  replaced  when  worn, 
and  a  commutator  which  receives  proper  treat- 
ment should  run  for  a  long  time  without  becom- 
ing worn  or  uneven.  When  necessary  it  may  be 
turned  off  and  given  a  new  and  perfect  surface. 
Electrical  Chm^acteristics.  ■ —  The  requirements 
upon  an  electric  generator  are  severe,  as  it  is 
subject  to  a  fluctuating  load.  The  cars  operated 
by  a  generator  are  individually  fluctuating  in 
their  requirements  for  power.  When  the  occa- 
sion comes  that  many  cars  require  a  large 
amount  of  power  simultaneously,  the  load  upon 
the  station  will  increase  greatly  above  the  mean. 
The  generator  must,  therefore,  be  able  to  stand 
for  a  short  time,  without  overheating  of  armature 
or  commutator  or  brushes,  a  load  much  greater 


ELECTRICITY  AS  A  MOTIVE  POWER. 


459 


Eight    Hundred   Kilowatt    (1070   horse 
power)  Railway  Generator  in  motion. 


than  the  average  load,  and  in  case  of  overload  or 
short  circuit  must  be  able  to  have  the  total  load, 
which  maybe  double  the  normal  load, thrown  off 
instantly  without  injury  to  the  machine.     This 

requires  exceptional- 
ly good  commutation, 
as  there  is  a  tendency 
to  spark  at  no-load 
when  the  brushes  are 
adjusted  properl}^  for 
carrying  an  overload, 
and  it  also  requires 
excellent  speed  regu- 
lation of  the  power  generating  apparatus.  The 
mechanical  strains  produced  by  the  sudden  throw- 
ing on  of  a  very  heavy  load  are  provided  for  by 
large  fly-wheel  capacity  and  the  use  of  heavy 
shafts. 

The  speeds  of  engine-type  railwa}^  generators 
are  made  to  conform  to  the  requirements  of  the 
engine.  As  a  higher  speed  allows  the  use  of  a 
smaller  generator  for  a  given  output,  the  speed 
is  usually  made  as  high  as  that  at  which  the 
engine  can  be  safely  run.  Eailway  generators  are 
compound-wound,  so  that  the  main  current  pass- 
ing around  the  field  strengthens  it,  thus  increasing 
the  magnetization  and  consequently  the  electro- 
motive force  as  the  load  increases.  This  also 
compensates  for  fall  in  engine  speed  as  the 
load  increases.  The  efficiency  of  engine-type 
generators  varies  from  ninety-one  or  ninety- 
two  per  cent,  to  ninety- five  per  cent,  at  full  load, 


460 


RAILWAY  EQUIPMENT, 


depending  upon  the  size  of  the  machine.  The 
efficiency  at  lialf  load  is  witliin  a  few  per  cent, 
of  the  eflBciency  at  full  load. 

The  Sivitchhoard. — The  switchboard  is  provided 
with  apparatus  for  connecting  dynamos  to  cir- 
cuits for  adjusting  the  pressure,  for  indicating 
the  pressure  and  the  current,  and  for  automat- 
ically opening  the  circuit  in  case  of  heavy  over- 
load.  Usually  a  separate  panel  of  the  switchboard 


Railway  Station  Switchboard  for  Three  Generators  and  Eight  Feeders. 

is  provided  for  each  generator,  for  the  total  load 
and  for  each  feeder  circuit.  A  generator  panel  is 
supplied  with  a  rheostat — an  adjustable  resist- 
ance in  series  with  the  field  winding  by  which 
the  strength  of  the  field  current  and  conse- 
quently the  electro-motive  force  of  the  machine 
may  be  varied;  a  main  switch  for  connecting  the 
wires  from  the  dynamo  to  the  bus  bars  to  which 
all   the   dynamos   may  be  connected;    a  circuit 


ELECTRICITY  AS  A  MOTIVE  POWER. 


461 


breaker  for  opening  the  circuit,  either  automat- 
ically in  case  of  too  great  an  overload,  or  by  hand 
at  other  times;  an  ammeter  for  indicating  the 
current,  and  a  voltmeter  for  indicating  the  elec- 
tro-motive force.  One  voltmeter  is  usually  sup- 
plied for  several  dynamos,  and  is  provided  with  a 
switch  by  which  it  may  be  connected  to  any  one 
of  them.  When  a  machine  is  to  be  connected  to 
the  bus  bars,  it  must  be  at  the  pressure  which  is 
indicated  by  a  second  voltmeter.     The  load  panel 


eiteiiT  itnJifn 


'WAfe/ V.*»-V.J 


Diagram  of  Connections  Between  Dynamo  and  Feeders  in  Switchboard. 

is  equipiDcd  with  an  ammeter  for  measuring  the 
total  output  of  the  station,  and  often  with  a 
recording  wattmeter  which  registers  the  total 
kilowatt-hours,  or  the  output  in  energy.  Each 
feeder  panel  is  supplied  with  a  switch,  an  auto- 
matic circuit  break  and  an  ammeter.  Such  a 
switch-board  enables  any  or  all  of  the  dynamos  to 
supply  any  or  all  of  the  feeders,  and  the  distribu- 
tion of  the  load  may  be  read  instantly  on  the 
ammeters. 


4C2  RAILWAY  EQUIPMENT, 

The  Boad  Equipment. 

The  Track, — In  an  electric  railway  the  road- 
bed and  track  are  determined  by  the  weight  and 
nature  of  the  rolling  stock  and  the  location  of 
the  line.  In  general  the  requirements  are  the 
same  as  for  steam  railways.  Inter- urban  and 
some  suburban  roads,  therefore,  employ  T-rails 
of  the  standard  weight  and  form,  while  in  city 
streets  a  suitable  girder  rail  is  used,  such  as  will 
permit  of  paving  between  tracks  and  not  inter- 
fere with  regular  street  traffic.  It  may  be  ob- 
served that  in  street  railway  construction  the 
rail  has  increased  steadily  year  by  year  from  the 
old-time  strap  rail  used  for  horse  cars  to  a  weight 
and  strength  riv^aling  the  best  steam  railway 
practice. 

The  conductors  which  carry  the  current  from 
the  power  station  to  the  cars  form  an  important 
part  of  the  line  construction.  The  essential  re- 
quirements of  these  conductors  or  feeders  are  low 
electrical  resistance  to  secure  ample  carrying 
capacity,  and  insulation  from  other  conducting 
bodies.  It  is,  therefore,  customary  to  use  copper 
wires  or  cables,  secured  to  glass  or  porcelain  insu- 
lators mounted  on  poles.  Where  over-head  wires 
are  prohibited  the  feeders  are  usually  of  insulated 
cables  laid  in  an  under-ground  conduit  beneath 
or  along  the  track.  The  rails  of  the  track  are 
equivalent  to  a  copper  conductor  of  a  section 
about  one-sixth  that  of  the  iron,  and  are  com- 
monly used  for  leturning  the  current  to  the 
power  station.    The  high  resistance  of  the  raij 


ELECTRICITY  AS  A  MOTIVE  POWER.  46.3 

joints  is  eliminated  by  bonding  the  rails  with 
heavy  copper  wire  or  connectors  riveted  or  oth- 
erwise conDOcted  to  the  rails  near  the  joints  in 
such  a  way  as  to  conduct  the  current  from  rail 
to  rail  around  the  high  resistance  joints.  Devices 
for  transmitting  the  current  from  the  feeders  to 
the  car  are  of  three  general  tj^pes — overhead,  sur- 
face and  underground. 

The  Ozerliead  System. — This  system,  commonly 
known  as  the  trolley,  is  now  used  more  than  any 
other.  A  single  bare  copper  wire  suspended  over 
each  track  is  connected  at  frequent  intervals  with 
the  feeder.  A  grooved  wheel  on  the  end  of  the 
trolley  pole  carried  by  the  car  makes  contact 
with  the  under  side  of  the  wire,  conducting  the 
current  to  the  car.  This  trolley  has  been  almost 
universally  adopted  by  street  railways  when  over- 
head wires  are  not  prohibited,  and  has  an  advan- 
tage over  all  its  competitors  in  its  low  cost.  It  is 
limited,  however,  to  moderate  speeds  and  low 
current  capacity.  When  the  speed  exceeds  thirty 
to  forty  miles  per  hour  the  tendency  of  the  trol- 
ley wheel  is  to  leave  the  wire,  thereby  damaging 
the  over-head  construction  and  interrupting  the 
service.  Heavy  trains  require  more  current  than 
can  be  collected  by  a  single  wheel.  This  necessi- 
tates mounting  two  or  more  trolleys  on  each 
motor  car,  which  is  objectionable.  The  necessity 
of  turning  the  trolley  around  whenever  the  direc- 
tion of  the  car  is  reversed  is  a  serious  inconven- 
^'ence  in  switching  and  yard  work.  Poles  placed 
between  tracks  for  supporting  the  wires  become 


464 


RAILWAY   EQUIPMENT. 


dangerous  to  the  employes  of  railroad  yards  and 
sidings.  When  a  suitable  over-head  structure  is 
already  provided,  some  form  of  rail  may  be  sub- 
stituted for  the  wire,  v^hereby  amply  carrying 
capacity  may  be  secured  and  the  objections  to 
high  speed  eliminated.  The  Baltimore  &  Ohio 
Railroad  has  adopted  this  plan  for  operating  its 
large  electric  locomotives  in  the  Baltimore  tun- 
nel. A  trough  of  steel  beams  is  suspended  from 
the  upper  wall  of  the  tunnel,  through  which  a 
heavy  iron  shoe  is  drawn  by  the  locomotive. 
The  shoe  cannot  leave  the  trough,  and  operates 
equally  well  in  either  direction. 

Surface  Conductors  for  collecting  current,  of 
which  the  "third  rair^  is  the  most  common 
example,  have  some  very  marked  advantages. 
Substantial  construction  is  secured  by  placing 
the    rail   on   strong    insulating    blocks    secured 

directly  to  the  ties  on 
which  the  track  rails  are 
laid.  This  permits  of  any 
speed  for  which  the  track 
may  be  constructed.  The 
cost  of  repairs  is  low. 
Accessibility  for  inspec- 
tion, repairs  and  adjust- 
ment is  an  important 
factor  in  securing  reliable 
service.  Ample  and  reli- 
able contact  between  the 
shoe  and  the  rail  permits 
an  uninterrupted  supply  of  current  required  to 


Third  Rail  supported  on  special 
wood  blocks  which  are  dowelled 
into  the  ties.    Nantasket  road. 


ELECTRICITY  AS  A  MOTIVE  POWER. 


465 


operate  heavy  trains.  Any  number  of  shoes  may 
be  added  and  an  unlimited  capacity  secured  with- 
out complication  or  inconvenience.  The  shoes 
work  equally  well  running  in  either  direction 
and  require  no  special  thought  or  attention. 
There  are,  however,  certain  objections  to  this 
system  which  in  some  cases  may  be  sufficient  to 
exclude  its  use.  "Live  rails"  are  inadmissible  in 
city  streets,  therefore,  this  system  cannot  be 
used  for  street  railways.  They  may  also  become 
objectionable  in  yards  where  many  tracks  inter- 
sect in  a  complicated  manner,  as  they  thus 
become  dangerous  to  yardmen  and  trainmen. 
The  third  rail  must  be  omitted  at  all  grade 
street  crossings.     This   cuts  off   the   source  of 

power  and  the  lights 
from  the  train  whenever 
a  crossing  is  passed  un- 
less the  rear  car  is  also 
provided  with  shoes  and 
connected  with  the  motor 
car  by  a  sectional  cable 
running  through  the 
whole  length  of  the  train. 
The  third  rail  may  be 
placed  between  the  track 
rails  or  on  either  side  of 
the  track,  as  may  be  desired.  It  must  always  be 
raised  several  inches  above  the  track  rails  so  the 
shoe  will  clear  at  switches  and  crossings.  The 
shoe  is  usually  of  cast  iron,  simple  in  form  and 
of  low  cost.    It  is  suspended  from  tlie  truck  in 

30    Vol.  1 


Shoe  for  Third  Rail  Between 
Main  Rails.  Cast  iron,  five  by 
twelve  inches;  weight,  twenty 
pounds.  Nautasket  Beach  Rail. 
way. 


466 


RAIL  WA  r  EQ  UIPMENf. 


lHl^iii^W 


such  manner  as  to  reduce  shocks  and  be  easil}^ 
adjusted  or  renewed. 

Underground  Systems  for  collecting  current 
are  of  two  general  types,  the  open  conduit  and 
the  closed  conduit.  The  open  conduit  sj^steni 
employs  some  form  of  trolley  wire  or  rail  laid 
in  a  conduit  having  a  slot  or  groove  in  the 
upper  portion  through  which  a  suitable  bar  is 
drawn  by  each  car,  making  contact  with  the 
wire  or  rail  and  conducting  the  current  to  the 
car.  Foreign  substances,  such  as  water,  snow, 
ice,  dirt,  etc.,  getting  into  these  conduits  impair 

the  insulation  of  the 
conductors  and  clog  the 
conduit,  making  its 
operation  under  some 
conditions  unreliable 
and  unsatisfactory.  In 
the  closed  conduit  sys- 
tem the  conductors  are 
completely  inclosed  in 
water-tight  conduits. 
Connection  is  made  to 
sectional  rails  or  con- 
tact blocks  laid  along  the  track,  through  switches 
which  are  closed  by  electro-magnets  operated 
from  the  car.  Hence  the  contact  rails  or  blocks 
are  charged  only  while  the  car  is  passing  over 
them.  This  system  possesses  many  advantages, 
especially  for  street  railway  work  and  yards 
and  sidings  where  nearly  all  other  systems  are 
excluded. 


Shoe  and  Third  Rail.    Brook- 
lyn Bridge  terminal. 


ELECTRTCTTY  AS  A  MOTIVE  POWER.  IT.T 

The  Electric  Motor  Car  or  Locomotive. 

The  development  of  the  electric  motor  car  nas 
been  a  continuous  evolution.  The  first  form  was 
that  of  the  old  horse  car  with  motors  mounted 
on  the  trucks.  This  soon  proved  inadequate  and 
heavier  and  stronger  cars  were  constructed, 
requiring  larger  motors.  Double  truck  cars  of 
still  greater  weight  and  power  were  next  adopted 
for  suburban  and  inter- urban  service.  Some  of 
these  cars  are  now  constructed  of  thirty  to  forty 
tons  weight  and  are  equipped  with  a  motor 
capacity  of  from  two  hundred  to  four  hundred 
horse-power. 


Truck  with  Motors  and  Controller.    Brooklyn  Bridge  Motor  Cars. 

The  Frame.  —  The  chief  requii-ements  of  the 
frame  are  stiffness  and  strength  for  resisting 
shocks  and  drawing  trains.  The  frame  of  a  dou- 
ble truck  car  is  relied  upon  to  tie  the  trucks 
together  and  transmit  their  combined  effort  to 
the  draw  bar.  It  is  therefore  customary,  for 
heavy  service,  to  construct  the  frame  of  iron  or 
steel  beams,  suitably  braced  and  stiffened  with 


468  RAILWAY    EQUIPMENT. 

plates  and  rods  in  accordance  with  good  engi- 
neering principles.  The  superstructure  ma}^  be 
adapted  to  any  service  whatever.  For  passenger 
service  onl}^  the  main  body  of  the  car  is  designed 
to  carry  passenger  and  the  controlling  devices 
are  mounted  on  either  end.  Combination  pas- 
senger and  baggage  cars  have  one  end  partitioned 
off  for  carrying  baggage,  while  for  express  and 
freight  work  the  greater  part  of  the  motor  car  is 
reserved  for  baggage  and  freight.  The  latter 
class  of  motor  cars,  as  well  as  those  provided 
with  a  cab  for  the  motorman  only,  are  termed 
locomotives,  since  their  chief  function  is  to  pull 
the  train. 

The  Truck.  —  The  axles  of  the  ordinary  car 
truck  are  not  driven  but  are  drawn  by  the  loco- 
motive.   When,  however,  these  axles  are  driven 

by  motors  the  stress  on  the 
transom  of  the  truck  becomes 
quite  different,  requiring  a 
stronger  and  more  rigid  con- 
Truck  for  motor  cars  for    struction.     The  boxes  and  iour- 

suburban  railroads.  ^  ,         i  i  c 

nals  mnst  also  be  or  proper 
form  and  size  to  give  adequate  wearing  surface, 
and  must  be  so  fitted  as  to  resist  shocks  trans- 
mitted to  them  without  being  thrown  out  of  line. 
The  axles  and  wheels  should  possess  the  qualities 
of  durability,  stiffness  and  strength.  When  but 
two  motors  are  mounted  on  a  double  truck,  there 
may  often  be  an  advantage  in  using  maximum 
traction  trucks.  These  trucks  are  constructed 
with  one  pair  of  heavy  driving  wheels  and  one 


ELECTRICITY  AS  A  MOTIVE  POWER. 


469 


Railway  Motor,  spring  mounted. 


pair  of  small  wheels. 

The  truck  frames  are 

so  proportioned  that 

the  greater  part  of 

the  weight   on   each 

truck  is  borne  by  the 

heavy    axle    and 

wheels,  to  which  the 

motors  are  connected,  and  a  high  tractive  effort 

is  obtained  without  slipping  the  wheels. 

The  Motor. 

Mechanical  Requirements. — Since  the  service  re- 
quired of  railway  motors  is  especially  severe, 
particular  attention  must  be  paid  to  certain 
mechanical  points: 

(1)  Weight. — The  motor  should  be  as  light  as 
possible,  to  lessen  wear  and  tear  on  track;  to  avoid 
carrying  the  extra  weight;  to  facilitate  handling. 
The  armature,  especially,  should  be  light. 

(2)  Size. — The  external  dimensions  are  hxed 
by  the  truck,  the  wheel  base,  the  gauge  and  the 
diameter  of  wheel.  Motors  of  special  shapes  are 
frequently  required  for  certain  classes  of  work. 
For  example,  motors  of  large  powers  to  be 
mounted  on  trucks  with  very  short  wheel  base 
must  be  rectangular  in  form  in  order  to  be  sus- 
pended between  the  axles  and  bolster  of  the 
truck.  These  mechanical  limitations  often  de- 
termine the  electrical  design  and  type  of  motor. 

(3)  Strength. — The  entire  motor  should  be  able 
to  stand  tlie  tremendous  strains  and  shocks,  as 


470  RAILWAY  EQUIPMENT. 

well  as  the  continued  vibration  which  are  un- 
avoidable in  railway  service.  Steel  motors  com- 
bine strength  and  light  weight  so  advantageously 
that  they  are  now  generally  used  for  heavy  rail- 
way work. 

(4)  Suspension. — The  motor  should  be  sus- 
pended as  much  as  possible  by  springs,  which 
will  prevent  sudden  shocks  and  shield  the  car 
axles  from  undue  strains.  In  the  case  of  geared 
motors  the  weight  of  the  motor  is  divided  be- 


Tliirty-five  Horse-Power  Railway  Motor,  with  Gear  Case  and  Car  Axle. 

tween  the  frame  of  the  truck  and  the  axle.  Sin- 
gle reduction  gearing  has  superseded  the  older 
double  reduction  type  and  admits  of  a  simple 
and  effective  spring  suspension  for  the  motor. 
Gearless  motors,  which  must  be  constructed  to 
run  at  a  low  armature  speed,  are  more  difficult 
to  suspend  properly  because  of  the  greater  weight 
and  size  for  a  given  output,  and  because  the  en- 
tire weight  of  the  motor  is  centered  at  the  axle. 
Shocks  on  axles  and  wear  and  tear  on  track  are, 
therefore,  greatly  increased  unless  a  hollow  sleeve 
suspension   with   flexible   spring   connections  is 


Railwav  Motor. 


ELECTRICITY  AS  A  MOTIVE  POWER.  ill 

used.  The  armature  must  be 
mounted  on  the  axle  before  one 
of  the  wheels  is  pressed  on,  and 
cannot  be  removed  for  repairs 
except  with  considerable  diffi- 
cult}^ and  expense.  The  gearless 
motor,  on  account  of  its  lower  speed  and  larger 
size,  has  a  greater  first  cost  than  the  single  reduc- 
tion motor  of  the  same  power.  Geared  motors 
should  be  suspended  between  the  axle  and  the 
bolster.  If  the  niotors  are  mounted  on  the  side 
of  the  axles  opposite  the  bolster,  shocks  and 
vibrations  are  increased;  the  inertia  effect  on 
short  curves  at  high  speeds  is  also  objectionable 
and  may  often  be  dangerous. 

(5)  Protection  from  Weather. — Motors  should 
be  enclosed  so  as  to  be  practically  water-proof 
up  to  the  axle  and  entirely  dust  and  oil-proof. 

(6)  Accessibility.  —  The  motor  should  be  so 
arranged  as  to  afford  easy  access  to  all  parts. 
The  upper  and  lower  halves  of  the  field  should 
be  hinged,  to  allow  them  to  be  swung  open  for 
inspection  or  removal  of  damaged  armature  or 
field  coils,  bearings,  etc.  A  covered  opening 
should  always  be  made  in  the  upper  field  for 
easy  access  to  brushes  and  commutator. 

(7)  Simplicity. — The  motor  should  involve  the 
smallest  possible  number  of  parts  and  especially 
few  wearing  surfaces.  This  is  necessary  to  reduce 
liability  to  get  out  of  order,  to  permit  ease  of 
replacing  and  to  reduce  the  number  of  repair 
parts  which  must  be  kept  in  stock.    Motors  with 


472 


RAIL WA Y   EQUIP2IENT. 


Field  Coil  for  Railway 
Motor.  The  coil  is  thor- 
oughly covered  with  in- 
sulating tape. 


very  small  clearance  between 
field  and  armature  require 
more  frequent  renewal  of 
bearings,  because  of  the  small 
amount  of  wear  in  bearings, 
before  causing  the  armature  to 
rub  against  the  field  poles.  The 
electrical  parts,  such  as  field 
coils  and  armature,  should  be 
so  simple  that  any  ordinary 
mechanic  can  repair  them. 
The  evolution  of  the  railway  motor  has  reached 
the  point  w^here  nearly  all  manufacturers  have 
settled  down  to  practically  one  type,  a  four-pole 
or  six-pole  field  and  slotted  drum  armature  with 
machine-wound  coils.  The  differences  appear  in 
the  number  of  field  coils,  the  material  in  the 
field  and  the  many  necessary  details  that  go  to 
make  up  a  complete  motor.  The  four-pole  motor 
for  ordinary  sizes  and  the  six-pole  motor  for 
large  sizes  are  adopted  chiefly  because  they  ful- 
fill the  conditions  of  lightness,  compactness  and 
strength.  They  are  easily  made  '*  iron -clad," 
water  and  dust-proof.  This  type  facilitates  the 
use  of  m?tchine-wound  armature  coils  and  pro- 
vides for  better  ventilation  of  field  winding;  it 
also  possesses  electrical  advantages.  When  the 
space  is  limited  and  circular  motors  of  large  size 
cannot  be  used,  the  form  of  four-pole  motor  fields 
is  changed  by  being  made  narrower  in  one  direc- 
tion. This  is  done  by  making  two  opposite  field 
poles  short  and  putting  no  field  coils  on  them. 


ELECTRICITY  AS  A  MOTIVE  POWER.  473 

Such  a  motor  is  called  a  "consequent  pole" 
motor. 

The  toothed  armature  is  better  adapted  to  rail- 
way work  on  account  of  the  danger  of  injury  to 
the  winding  of  the  surf  ace- wound  armature,  also 
on  account  of  the  fact  that  the  excessive  torque 
on  the  wires  laid  on  a  smooth  core  has  been 
found  to  shift  the  winding.  The  coils  on  a 
toothed  armature  are  mechanically  jDrotected  by 
the  teeth. 

Electrical  Characteristics. — The  service  required 
of  the  railway  motor  is  different  from  that  of 
almost  any  other  motor.  The  average  work  of 
the  motor  is  small,  while  the  maximum  may  be 
several  times  greater.  For  this  reason  the  motor 
is  desigued  and  rated  differently  from  stationary 
motors.  The  motor  usually  receives  a  rating 
which  corresponds  closely  to  the  average  power 
developed  by  the  motor  while  running.  If  rated 
in  horse-power,  the  drawbar  pull  is  fixed  by  the 
speed  for  which  the  motor  is  geared.  If  rated  in 
drawbar  pull,  it  must  be  at  a  definite  speed  in 
order  to  fix  the  capacity  of  the  motor  in  horse- 
power. With  any  two  of  three  terms — horse- 
power, speed,  or  drawbar  pull — given,  the  third 
is  fixed,  so  it  matters  little  whether  the  motor  is 
rated  in  horse-power  or  in  drawbar  pull.  The 
railway  motor  must  run  without  sparking,  other- 
wise it  will  give  trouble  at  the  commutator  from 
blackening,  cutting,  burning,  or  flashing,  and  the 
commutator  will  heat  and  wear  rapidly.  The 
motor  must  have  the  field  coils  and  the  armature 


474  RAILWAY   EQUIPMENT. 

SO  insulated  as  to  protect  them  not  only  from  the 
line  voltage  and  the  momentary  voltages  produced 
by  opening  the  circuit,  but  from  lightning  dis- 
charges. The  efficiency  will  not  be  as  high  as  in 
a  stationary  motor,  owing  to  the  gear  and  extra 
friction  losses,  but  in  the  best  motors  all  losses 
are  reduced  to  a  minimum,  and  the  maximum 
efficiency  is  obtained  at  about  the  average  run- 
ning load,  which  gives  the  best  all-day  efficiency. 
The  same  motor  may  be  used  for  high  speed  and 
light  load  and  for  low  speed  and  heavy  load  by 
simply  using  gears  with  a  different  ratio.* 

The  Series  Motor  operated  on  a  constant  po- 
tential circuit  is  now  almost  universally  used 
for  traction  purposes.  In  this  motor  the  field 
winding  is  placed  in  series  with  the  armature. 
A  variation  in  current,  therefore,  affects  both 
elements,  field  and  armature.  This  relation  has 
its  strong  practical  advantage  in  securing  a 
heavy  torque  at  low  speeds  and  in  giving  good 
running  conditions  over  a  wide  range  of  speed. 
The  torque  of  a  given  motor  depends  upon 
the  field  strength  (or  field  current)  and  upon 
the   current   in   the   armature.      The   torque   is 

*  This  is  made  clear  by  the  foUowing  relation:  Horse-power 
==  Drawbar  pull  x  Miles  per  hour  x  .00267.  By  changing  the 
gear  ratio  a  motor  (itself  exerting  the  same  torque  and  revolv- 
ing at  the  same  speed)  may  be  used  for  exerting  twice  the  draw- 
bar pull  at  half  the  speed.  If  the  drawbar  pull  required  be  five 
thousand  pounds  and  the  speed  be  thirty  miles  per  hour  the 
horse-power  required  is  5000  X  30  x  .00267  =  400  horse-power,  or 
100  horse-power  each  for  four  motors.  The  same  motor  will 
give  a  drawbar  pull  of  ten  thousand  pounds  at  fifteen  miles  per 
hour  if  proi)erly  geared. 


ELECTRICITY  AS  A  MOTIVE  POWER. 


475 


Motor  with  Upper  Field  raised,  showing 
Armature  and  Upper  Field  Poles  with  the 

coils  surrounding  them. 


always  the  same  for  a  given  current,  independent 
of  the  speed.  The  electro-motive  force  at  the 
t  e  r  m  i  n  a 1 s  0  f  the 
motor  depends  prin- 
cipally u  p  0  n  the 
field  strength  and 
the  speed.  The 
speed  depends  prin- 
cipally u  p  0  n  the 
electro-motive  force 
and  is  (broadly 
speaking)  independ- 
ent of  the  current. 
The  current  flowing 
depends  upon  the 
difference  between 
the  electro-motive  force  on  the  circuit  and  in  the 
motor,  and  also  upon  the  resistance  in  the  circuit. 
More  precisely,  the  motor  armature  revolving 
in  a  magnetic  field  has  an  electro-motive  force 
induced  in  it.  When  a  motor  is  connected  be- 
tween the  trolley  and  the  rail  there  is  a  circuit 
in  which  the  electro-motive  force  of  the  trolley, 
say  five  hundred  volts,  is  opposed  by  the  counter 
electro-motive  force  of  the  motor,  say  four  hun- 
dred and  fifty  volts,  giving  fifty  volts  difference 
as  the  effective  pressure  for  sending  current 
through  the  resistance  of  the  circuit.  If  the 
resistance  of  the  circuit  be  one-half  ohm  the 
current  will  be  one  hundred  amperes;  if  the 
resistance  be  increased  to  one  ohm,  the  current 
will  decrease;  but  a  decrease  in  current  means  a 


476 


RAILWAY   EQUIPMENT. 


decrease  in  torque.  If  the  motor  is  propelling  a 
car,  the  speed  will  necessarily  become  slower. 
The  reduced  current  and  the  decreased  speed 
both  tend  to  reduce  the  electro-motive  force  pro- 
duced in  a  motor,  and  the  lowering  of  this 
counter  electro -motive  force,  gives  a  greater 
effective  force  for  sending  current  through  the 
circuit.  When,  therefore,  the  resistance  is  in- 
creased the  speed  will  become  less  and  less,  the 
counter  electro-motive  force  will  become  less  and 
less  until  the  effective  electro-motive  force  is  just 
sufficient  to  cause  enough  current  to  flow  to  main- 
tain the  car  at  a  constant  speed. 
Motor  Curves. — The  relations  between  the  speed, 

torque,  current  and 
electro-motive 
force  under  various 
conditions  may  be 
determined  by 
brake  tests  upon  the 
motor  before  it  is 
mounted  on  the 
car.  When  certain 
of  these  elements, 
as  speed  and  cur- 
rent, are  given,  the 
others  may  be  de- 
term  in  ed  from 
characteristic 
curves  plotted 
from  the  prelimi- 

Horse-power,  torque,  speed  and  efficiency      viqvtt    f/riofo         Tin  c, 
diagram,  at  500  volts  for  100  horse-power  motor,    ildiy    bUotb.       JLllU 


lOO  Hor««  Pow.r  -  500  Voltfc. 
Strtet  Cir    Mctor. 

£ 

e 

/ 

/ 

^ 

1 

/ 

. 

1 

/ 

/ 

CSC 

1 

/ 

/ 

/ 

J 

/ 

/ 

/ 

. 

;■  1 

s 

j 

/ 

/ 

/ 

s 

^/ 

./ 

/ 

"    JS 

\ 

# 

'f\ 

J 

/ 

\ 

/, 

/ 

,. 

V 

\ 

y 

/ 

/ 

^ 

^^ 

~ 

/ 

\.m 

ffiiat 

— 

i 

so 

^ 

/. 

^ 

i^ 

/ 

— 

/ 

/ 

/ 

/ 

.. 

/ 

/ 

/' 

/ 

— 

11 

/ 

' 

/ 

Al)ip( 

res. 

0         45.       60        75        m        US       ISO      175       290      2a      2S0      175      51 

» 

ELECTRICITY  AH  A  MOTIVE  POWER. 


477 


accompan5'ing  diagrams  show  the  characteristic 
curves  for  one  hundred  horse-power  motor.  These 
diagrams  show  the  electrical  horse-power  (the 
horse-power  received  bj^  the  motor),  the  mechani- 
cal horse-power  (the  power  delivered  b}^  the  motor), 
the  torque,  the  efficiency  and  the  speed  for  differ- 
ent currents  for  pressures  of   five  hundred,  and 

two  hundred  and 
fifty  volts  on  the 
terminals  of  the 
motor.  By  exam- 
ining the  diagram 
which  gives  the  re- 
lations when  the 
electro-motive 
force  is  five  hun- 
dred volts,  the  con- 
ditions when  one 
hundred  amperes 
are  flowing  may 
be  found  on  the 
vertical  line  corre- 
sponding  to  one 
hundred.      The 

Horse-power,  torque,  speed  and  efficiency  j     •       j.  i 

diagram,  at  250  volts  for  100  horse-powermotor.  SpCCQ  IS  ten  hun- 
dred and  seventy- 
five,  the  output  is  fifty-eight  horse-power,  and 
the  torque  is  three  hundred  pounds.  If  increased 
torque  is  required,  say,  a  grade  is  reached  requir- 
ing three  times  the  draw-bar  pull,  then  a  current 
corresponding  to  nine  hundred  pounds  torque  is 
required,  which  is  two  hundred  and  ten  amperes, 


100  Horse  Poner  Motor  (250  Vdls  apoliiJ  ). 

""* 

X 

te 

7S 

TO 

A 

V 

■■s 

1 

/ 

t 

1 

/ 

J 

1 

1 

/ 

/ 

/ 

/ 

/ 

/ 

/ 

/ 

II  ' 

-y 

^ 

/' 

/ 

/ 

\ 

4 

by 

/ 

•0 
40 

ss 

X 

u 

» 

IS 
10 

I 

ae 

\ 

\ 

/ 

/ 

/ 

0 

\ 

/ 

/ 

y    1     1 

- 

v 

A~] 

/ — iff'c;,„f,  1 

^  V 

|/ 

V 

Vj 

i 

/ 

/ 

N^ 

// 

/ 

/ 

"" 

/ 

/ 

/ 

/ 

/ 

/ 

/ 

/ 

/ 

krr.ptr 

, 

0      a      »      n      ixoinainixtaiiazny 

M 

4 7H  RA  TL  WA  V  EQUIPMENT. 

the  speed  falls  to  seven  hundred  and  ten,  and  the 
output  increases  to  one  hundred  and  twentj-three 
horse-power.  The  efficienc}^  falls  from  about 
eighty-nine  to  eighty-six  per  cent.  The  curve, 
w^hen  the  electro-motive  force  is  two  hundred  and 
fifty  volts,  shows  the  same  torque  for  the  same  cur- 
rent, but  at  a  decreased  speed.  The  speed  corre- 
sponding to  one  hundred  amperes  has  decreased 
to  five  hundred  and  thirty-five,  or  one-half,  and 
the  output  has,  of  course,  fallen  in  the  same 
ratio.  A  further  reduction  of  electro-motive  force 
would  cause  a  corresponding  reduction  in  speed. 
A  reduction  of  the  voltage  on  a  motor  operated 
on  a  five  hundred  volt  circuit  may  be  effected  in 
either  of  two  ways.  Motors  may  be  connected 
in  series  (two  motors  in  series  would  give  two 
hundred  and  fifty  volts  on  each  motor)  or  a 
resistance  may  be  placed  in  series  with  a  motor. 
When  a  motor  is  to  be  started  a  resistance  is 
placed  in  series  with  it  and  is  reduced  as  the 
speed  increases.  Within  wide  limits  the  vari- 
ation of  resistance  enables  a  motor  to  be  run 
with  any  torque  at  any  speed.  The  advantage 
of  connecting  motors  in  series  may  be  appre- 
ciated by  noting  the  current  which  will  be 
required  for  producing  a  torque  of  three  hundred 
pounds  on  each  of  two  motors  at  a  speed  of  four 
hundred  and  thirty-five  revolutions  when  the 
motors  are  in  separate  circuits,  each  in  series 
with  a  resistance,  and  when  they  are  in  series  in 
one  circuit.  In  the  first  case  each  motor  requires 
one  hundred  amperes,  and  two  hundred  amperes 


MjECTRTC'ITV  AS  A  MOTIVE  POWEB.  479 

are  taken  from  the  trolle}^  line.  The  two  hun- 
dred amperes  pass  through  resistances  which 
reduce  the  pressure  to  one-half,  thereby  wasting 
one-half  the  energy  received  from  the  circuit 
before  the  motors  are  reached.  In  the  second 
case,  the  motors  being  in  series,  only  one  hundred 
amperes  are  taken  from  the  trolley,  and  no  power 
is  lost  outside  of  the  motors.  In  running  below 
half  speed,  motors  are  commonly  connected  in 
series  and  the  pressure  is  still  further  reduced  at 
starting  by  a  resistance  in  series  with  both 
motors.  If  four  motors  are  mounted  on  a  car  it 
is  similarly  advantageous  to  connect  all  four  in 
series  for  starting,  then  pairs  in  series  between 
quarter  and  half  speed,  and  then  all  in  parallel 
for  full  speed  running. 

The  use  of  the  diagram  is  further  illustrated 
by  determining  the  requirements  if  a  train 
weighing  two  hundred  and  fifty  tons  is  to  be 
hauled  up  a  one  per  cent,  grade  at  a  speed  of 
twenty  miles  per  hour.  If  friction  be  seven 
pounds  per  ton  the  pull  required  to  haul  two 
hundred  and  fifty  tons  on  a  level  is  seventeen 
hundred  and  fifty  pounds.  The  resistance  per 
ton  due  to  a  grade  of  one  per  cent,  is  twenty 
pounds;  the  resistance  for  two  hundred  and  fifty 
tons  is  five  thousand  pounds.  The  total  resist- 
ance is  sixty-seven  hundred  and  fifty  pounds. 
Now,  twenty  miles  per  hour  is  seventeen  hun- 
dred and  sixty  feet  per  minute;  sixty-seven  hun- 
dred and  fifty  pounds  pull  through  seventeen 
hundred  and    sixty  feet  per  minute  is    eleven 


480  RAILWAY   EQUIPMENT. 

million,  eight  hundred  and  eighty  thousand  foot- 
pounds; this  when  divided  by  thirty-three  thou- 
sand, gives  three  hundred  and  sixty,  the  horse- 
power. If  the  efficiency  of  gears  be  ninety  per 
cent,  the  power  required  from  the  motors  is  four 
hundred  horse-power,  or  one  hundred  horse-power 
from  each  of  four  motors.  The  diagram  for  five 
hundred  volts  shows  that  the  one  hundred  horse- 
power motor,  when  developing  one  hundred 
horse-power,  requires  one  hundred  and  sixty-five 
amperes  and  runs  at  a  speed  of  eight  hundred 
revolutions.  If  the  diameter  of  the  driving 
wheel  be  a  little  over  thirty-six  inches  the  cir- 
cumference is  ten  feet,  and  the  number  of  revo- 
lutions required  to  travel  seventeen  hundred  and 
sixty  feet  per  minute  is  one  hundred  and  seventy- 
six.  The  gear  ratio  required  is,  therefore,  eight 
hundred  to  one  hundred  and  seventy-six,  or 
about  seventy-seven  to  seventeen.  The  series 
motor  possesses  a  high  efficiency  over  a  wide 
range  of  load.  In  fact,  the  efficiency  is  always 
high  so  far  as  the  motor  itself  is  concerned. 
The  low  efficiency  at  starting  is  due  to  resistances 
in  circuit  for  supplying  the  motor  with  reduced 
voltage. 

Tests  on  Motor  Cars. — Performance  curves  of 
three  motor  cars  obtained  from  tests  made  while 
the  cars  were  in  regular  service  are  given  in  the 
accompanying  figures.  Each  diagram  records 
the  conditions  of  grade,  current,  tractive  effort, 
voltage  and  speed  during  a  run.  The  first  diagram 
shows  the  performance  of  a  motor  car  geared  to 


ELECTRICITY  AS  A  MOTIVE  POWER. 


481 


make  a  maxi- 
mum speed  of 
sixty  miles  per 
hour,  palling  one 
trailer.  The  mo- 
tors are  first  con- 
nected,in  series 
and  a  resistance 
is  placed  in  the 
circuit.  The  re- 
sistance is  re- 
duced by  the 
motorman  as  the 
speed  increases. 
The  current  and 
tractive  effort 
are  high  at  first, 
falling  to  a  mini- 
mum as  the  car 
reaches  the 
maximum  speed 
at  which  it  can 
run  when  the 
motors  are  con- 
nected in  series. 
At  this  point  the 
car  begins  to  as- 
cend a  grade,  the  speed  is  consequently  reduced 
and  the  current  increases  to  give  the  required 
torque  for  propelling  the  train  up  the  grade  at 
this  reduced  (but  practically  constant)  speed. 
To  obtain  a  higher  speed,  the  motors  are  now 

31    Vol.  1 


i   f  ,1 

^^ 

A 

•, 

\ 

\ 

\ 

V  g 

\ 

/ 

*« 

/ 

»; 

/ 

,,-- 

jj 

1 

\ 

1 

\^ 

j 

N 

/ 

\ 

/ 

^ 

/ 

\ 

^, 

/,' 

s  S  ' 

J 

H 

s 

\fe 

.^  ai  !^      ? 

r 

|Gi 

:^:j^  ^ 

A'. 

►3 

^^^N    J 

J 

J 

S 

1 

1     1         t' 

i- 

i 

^; 

/ 

,'■ 

i?<U 

/ 

J 

N' 

^  ^1 

y 

, 

J\' 

ttU 

% 

^ 

^  J 1  '^  .^ 

\ 

^ 

11 

ii, 

^^^  ^^ 

\ 

* 

5; 

?M?^ 

\ 

f 

§  1 1 U 

\ 

// 

>s 

^^^^^ 

1 

/ 

1 

\ 

\ 

>A 

x> 

N  ^^^ 

:;"--- 

.,, 

y 

/ 

/ 

y 

/ 

/ 

\ 

/ 

/ 

1 

>l 

/ 

\    , 

a 

^^^ 

\  / 

'w 

y 

' 

x 

1 

^,-^ 

/  \ 

1 

— —' 

■~~-^^ 

1 



^ 

^~~^     1 

— \ 

: 

1 

1 

/ 

—    J 

"-^ 

^'- 

\ 

.--^ 

^ 



■ — 

^  \ 

-'^ 

/ 

J 

■ 

S^         a         S         ^        « 

i 
5 

1  5: 

^^vw 

1     1     3     ^     ^     1'     1     '!       ^1 

o 
a 
O 

c 

c3 
l-i 

o3 

a 


^ 


482 


RAILWAY  EQUIPMENT, 


connected  in 
m  u  1 1  i  23 1  e,  the 
current  becomes 
twice  as  much  as 
before,  while  the 
torque,  which  is 
about  the  same 
as  it  was  when 
the  car  was  on 
the  grade,  is  now 
effectual  in  ac- 
celerating the 
train  to  full 
speed,  or  until  it 
becomes  neces- 
sary to  shut  off 
the  current  and 
apply  the  brakes 
in  order  to  make 
the  next  stop. 
The  drop  in  volt- 
age is  greatest 
w  h  e  n  the  cur- 
rent is  greatest, 
and  is  rather  ex- 
cessive in  this 
case,  due  to  the 
inadequate  size 
of  feeders  supplying  this  portion  of  the  road. 
The  best  action  of  the  motors  would  be  obtained 
from  constant  voltage  of  five  hundred. 
In  the  second  and  third  diagrams  similar  curves 


5^" 





■ 

^^ ' 

(^^-"^ 

3 

S 

/I 

/ 

';] 

/ 

J 

/ 

1 

/ 

^ 

/ 

"^ 

/ 

^--~,^ 

_^ 

'-s^ 

==-°^ 

[ 

; 

\ 

, 

\ 

\, 

i 

^ 

\ 

\ 

\ 

\ 

I 

) 

\ 

\ 

\, 

\ 

\ 

\ 

\ 

' 

\ 

'^ 

\ 

^ 

1 

\ 

^ 

\ 

\ 

' 

.    ^ 

\. 

\ 

1 

St 

\ 

!  \ 

5 

f  t^ 

«■    ? 

1 

)  ^ 

,>S 

^? 

*:      ^ 

V 

y 

N, 

"o 

^{^ 

i^^ 

\, 

,,--' 

v, 

^. 

\ 

J' 

>; 

\ 

\ 

/  / 

5 

5 

\\ 

/ 

*■ 

s 

^5 

1 

? 

>  1 J 

\ 

,/ 

!=^ 

H/^ 

1 

J< 

*  '> 

"l^N 

iS, 

*: 

?  if 

^U 

/ 

Ji 

? 

1;^ 

^^.  i  ^ 

* 

^ 

; 

1 

"5 

^  •? 

j^^^ 

^ 

l 

,^ 

% 

'■; 

^ 

1 

^1 

v> 

5' 

g 

^ 

/ 

s 

/ 

ui 

'' 

/ 

\   1 

/ 

\ 

/ 

\\ 

[ 

V, 

\ 

/,' 

\ 

'  I 

\\ 

y 

'  / 

^ 

\^^ 

/^ 

\/ 

^ 

1 

y  '^^ 

^.^^ 

5 

i 

^ 

^ 

s 

1 

1 

5! 

b 

iivj^^^tjr/ji'^ 

3 

s 

5 

1       s 

^       . 

*l 

ELECrmcITY  AS  A  MOTIVE  POWER. 


483 


are  given  of  mo- 
tor cars  geared 
for  moderate 
speed  and  draw- 
ing heavy  trains. 
The  Controller. 
— The  controller 
is  to  the  electric 
motor  car  what 
the  throttle  and 
reversing  gear 
are  to  the  steam 
locomotive. 
Through  it  the 
motive  power  of 
the  car  is  made 
obedient  to  the 
will  of  the  oper- 
ator. The  cur- 
rent is  admitted 
to  the  motors  at 
a  low  pressure, 
reduced  through 
a  resistance.  As 
the  torque  de- 
veloped b}'  the 
motors  depends 
upon  the  current 
flowing  through 
them,  the  torque 
in  starting  may 
be  increased  or 


5 



' ■ 

,— - — 

■ 

,^ 

/ 

J 

^ 

r-rr^ 

-^  1 

1 

J 

-.s 

J 

\, 

; 

1 

/ 

\i 

/ 

h\ 

1  / 

• 

^ 

i  / 

\\ 

/ 

\ 

' 

\! 

;     \; 

\       n   1 

\ 

/:  ' 

A         ^ 

1; 

\ 

i? 

// 

^ 

k          l^' 

\ 

^ 

\ 

f  1 

\, 

^ 

1 

\ 

M/ 

^ 

i  ^/ 

1 

i      1  ,^! 

\ 

;  V  '^^ 

5 

\ 

?(  ^■ 

=e 

"a   i; 

!     s  1 

1 

a    " 

J  S  i  1 

\  !■ 

^ 

^  h'  ^     ^ 

\ 

^.^^^    1^ 

-     \ 

1 

t^  5  :^  t  "  ^ 

i 

\ 

1 

•)     1 

] 

" 

vl 

/ 

I  ft 

^ 

^    ?   5 

1 

V 

,' 

^  i   ^  S 

^ 

y\\ 

/ 

! ,  §  1  K^ 

/ 

\  ^ 

vj  1  ^  M  ^ 

/ 

\ 

(■ 

( 

\ 

• 

^  ^'  f  ^  H 

\, 

-^  >$ "?  ^  *^  ^ 

\ 

1 

^ 

\ 

i 

\ 

A 

:  ^ 

\ 

/ 

*• 

/ 

'  s 

k 

V 

v/ 

\ 

Af 

\ 

U 

)v 

i 

^-^ 

A 

A, 

.  V 

>^ 

S\ 

^. 

^ 

-^  \ 

h 

>v 

1 

N   . 

1 

_s 

u* 

1 

^"■'l 

^ 
§ 

^ 

I 

i 

'  1 

M 

W 

5 
5^ 

1 

\ 

\ 

1 

i « 

484 


RAILWAY   EQUIPMENT. 


decreased  at  will  by  suitably  varying  the  amount 
of  resistance  in  the  circuit.  This  is  done  in  the 
controller.  The  resistance  is  usually  made  of 
wire  or  strips  of  metal  wound  in  coils.  This  is 
divided  into  a  number  of  sections  which  are  con- 
nected to  the  controller,  which  is  a  form  of  switch 
for  varying  the  quantity  of  the  resistance  between 
the  trolley  and  the  motors,  and  for  cutting  out 
the  resistance  entirely  when  the  controller  han- 
dle is  moved  to  the  full  speed  position.  The  con- 
troller is  divided  into  two 
parts;  the  first  consists  of 
the  switches  for  changing 
the  resistance,  and  the 
second  of  the  switches  for 
making  the  changes  in 
the  motor  connections. 
The  latter  determines  the 
direction  of  motion  of  the 
car — forward  or  backward 
— and  also  connects  the 
motors  in  series  or  in  mul- 
tiple as  desired,  whence 
the  term  ''series-multiple" 
or  "series -parallel"  con- 
troller. It  is  convenient 
and  more  economical  in  space  to  place  the 
switches  of  the  controller  on  a  drum,  so  that  as 
the  drum  revolves  different  combinations  are 
made.  Each  controller  is  provided  with  cut-out 
switches,  by  which  any  or  all  the  motors  may  be 
thrown  out  of  service.     It  is  essential  that  con- 


Controller  for  Two  50  Horse- 
power Motors;  open,  showing  in- 
terior. The  small  handle  on  top  is 
the  reversing  switch. 


ELECTRICITY  AS  A  MOTIVE  PO^yER. 


485 


trollers  be  constructed  so  as  to  open  the  circuit 
when  heavy  currents  are  flowing 
without  the  serious  arcing  or  flash- 
ing which  is  liable  to  occur  when 
a  current  is  broken.  If  arcing 
is  permitted  the  switches  and  con- 
tacts soon  become  burned  and  de- 
stroyed, so  that  the  controller  is 
rendered  inoperative.  Arcing  is 
reduced  either  by  inserting  in  the 
circuit  a  high  resistance,  thereby 
reducing  the  current  before  finally 
breaking  it,  or  by  the  ''magnetic 
blow-out."  This  is  a  device  by 
which  the  circuit  is  opened  in  a 
strong  magnetic  field,  the  action  of 
which  is  to  dissipate  and  blow  out 
the  arc  which  would  otherwise 
establish  itself. 


Controller  for 
two  Railway  Mo- 
tors. Current  is 
broken  on  auxil- 
iary  drum  or 
switch  and  not  on 
the  central  drum. 


ADJUNCTS. 

Brakes.  —  Motor  cars  for  heavy  service  are 
equipped  with  air  brakes  similar  to  those  used  in 
ordinary  railroad  service.  The  air  compressor  is 
driven  by  an  electric  motor.  In  the  usual  type 
the  air  ^Dump  is  direct  connected  to  a  series  motor. 
The  motor  is  provided  with  an  automatic  gov- 
ernor, which  cuts  off  the  current  and  stops  the 
motor  when  the  pressure  reaches  the  maximum 
limit  and  starts  it  again  when  the  pressure  falls. 
Electric  emergency  brakes  have  been  devised 
whereby  a  car  may  be  stopped  electrically  even 


486 


RAILWAY   EQUIPMENT. 


Cont.-oUer  for  Electric  Motors;  open, 
showing  Drum  and  Fixed  Contacts.  Mo- 
tion of  handle  in  one  way  increases 
speed,  and  in  the  opposite  direction 
throws  on  the  Electric  Brake. 


when  the  external 
source  of  power  is  cut 
off.  The  current  for 
operating  the  electric 
brake  attachment  is 
obtained  from  the  mo- 
tors working  as  gener- 
ators, deriving  their 
energy  from  the  mov- 
ing car.  The  brake  is 
a  friction  brake  oper- 
ated by  a  powerful 
electro-magnet. 

Light  and  Heat. — 
Motor  cars  are  lighted 
by  electricity,  usually  in  groups  of  five,  one  hun- 
dred volt  lamps  connected  in  series  across  the 
circuit.  Cars  may  be  electrically  heated.  The 
quantity  of  coal  which  must  be  burned  in  the 
powder  station  to  produce  a  given  amount  of  heat 
in  the  car  is  probably  twenty  times  as  great  as 
would  be  required  in  a  stove  in  the  car.  The 
electric  heater  furnishes  the  ideal  method  of 
heating  in  convenience,  cleanliness,  safety,  the 
uniform  distribution  of  heat  and  in  its  perfect 
control. 

Alternating  CmTent  Modifications. — When  alter- 
nating current  is  used,  either  in  part  or  in  whole, 
some  of  the  foregoing  elements  are  modified  to 
conform  to  the  new^  conditions.  These  will  be  con- 
sidered separately  under  the  two  general  systems 
v/hich  involve  the  use  of  alternating  current. 


ELECTRICITY  AS  A  MOTIVE  POWER. 


487 


The  Alternating  Current-Direct  Current  System. — 
In  this  system  the  power  station  may  be  located  at 
a  considerable  distance  from  the  road  to  be  oper- 
ated when  water  power,  cheap  fuel,  or  other 
advantages  make  such  a  location  desirable.  The 
arrangement  and  selection  of  units  and  other 
questions  of  design  and  operation  of  the  station 
do  not  differ  greatly  from  those  in  direct  current 
stations. 


Truck  with  motors  geared  to  axles;  electric  brakes.  An  irou  plate  fastened 
on  the  armature  at  the  end  opposite  the  gear  case  is  drawn  against  affixed  plate 
by  an  electro-magnet.    The  pressure  produces  great  friction. 

In  this  system  the  alternating  current  is  either 
generated  at  a  high  voltage,  or  the  low  tension 
current  from  the  generators  is  raised  to  a  high 
pressure  by  step-up 
transformers,  and  the 
current  is  transmitted 
over  a  line  of  compara- 
tively small  wires  to 
several  sub -stations 
located  at  convenient 
points  along  the  rail- 
road. At  these  sub-sta- 
tions  step-down    trans-  Narrow-gauge  Motor. 


488  RAILWAY   EQUIPMENT. 

formers  and  alternating  current-direct  current 
rotary  transformers  are  installed  for  the  pur- 
pose of  converting  the  high  tension  alternating 
current  into  direct  current  for  the  ordinary  rail- 
way system.  From  this  point  the  feeders,  trolley 
line  and  motor  car  equipment  conform  with  the 
standard  direct  current  practice  already  described, 
the  rotary  transformer  taking  the  place  of  the 
dynamo  for  supplying  current."^ 

The  Alternating  Current  System. — The  power 
station  and  the  high  tension  transmission  line 
remain  the  same  in  this  system  as  in  the  alter- 
nating current-direct  current  system.  The  step- 
down  transformers,  however,  are  more  in  number, 
are  placed  closer  together  and  supply  polyphase 
alternating  current  to  the  trolley.  Two  trolley 
wires  are  required  over  each  track,  the  rails  serv- 
ing as  the  third  wire  of  a  three-phase  or  three- 
wire  two-phase  circuit.  Each  car  is  provided 
with  two  trolley  poles,  a  suitable  alternating 
current  controller  and  polyphase  motors.f 

In  this  system  advantages  may  be  secured  by 
operating  the  trolleys  at  high  tension  (using 
them  for  transmission  line  when  the  generator 
station  is  near  the  railroad),  and  carrying  the 
reducing  transformers  on  the  cars  instead  of 
placing  them  at  intervals  along  the  track. 

The  use  of  polyphase  motors  for  operating  rail- 
road trains  is  at  present  an  experimental  problem. 

*  This  system  is  shown  in  diagram  on  page  426. 
f  The  elements  of  this   system  are  shown  in   diagram    on 
page  441. 


ELE  C  TRIO  I TY  A  S  A  MO  TI VE  P  O  WER .  489 

What  place  this  system  may  eventually  hold  in 
long  distance  high  speed  service  therefore  remains 
to  be  determined  by  a  practical  demonstration  of 
its  scope  and  advantages. 

ELECTRIC  ROADS. 

The  range  of  work  which  is  being  done  by  the 
electric  motor  beyond  the  limits  of  ordinary  street 
railway  traffic,  is  very  great,  as  is  also  the  vari- 
ety of  conditions  which  present  themselves.  At 
first,  two  fifteen  horse-power  motors  constituted 
the  standard  equipment  of  an  electric  car.  The 
extent  and  magnitude  of  the  development  which 
has  taken  place  are  illustrated  by  the  large  num- 
ber of  roads  which  are  now  in  operation  and 
under  construction,  including  inter-urban,  ele- 
vated, suburban,  passenger  service  on  general 
railways,  tunnel  lines  and  long  distance  trans- 
mission and  alternating  current  railways.  Brief 
reference  to  some  of  these  roads  will  be  inter- 
esting. 

The  Akron,  Bedford  S  Cleveland  RailwaT/. — 
This  road  is  some  thirty  miles  long,  mostly  single 
track,  extending  from  Akron,  through  Bedford, 
to  Cleveland,  Ohio.  The  cars  run  to  the  center  of 
the  city  on  the  street  railway  lines.  The  track  is 
of  fifty-six  pounds  per  yard  T-rails  laid  on  wooden 
ties.  The  gauge  is  four  feet  eight  and  one-half 
inches.  The  trolley  Avire  of  (Ko.  0000  B.  &  S. 
gauge)  hard  drawn  copper.  The  power  stations 
are  two  in  number,  each  of  five  hundred  kilowatts 
capacity,  so  located  that  no  part  of  the  line  is 


490  RAILWAY   EQUIPMENT. 

more  than  nine  miles  from  a  power  station.  Two 
hundred  fifty  kilowatt  belt-driven  generators  are 
installed  at  each  station.  A  unique  feature  of 
these  generators  is  that  they  are  constructed  to 
generate  either  five  hundred  volt  direct  current 
or  polyphase  alternating  current  at  three  hundred 
and  eighty  volts.  The  direct  current  only  is  used. 
These  machines  may,  when  desired,  be  used  as 
alternators  to  operate  rotary  transformers  to 
supply  the  distant  parts  of  the  road  or  for  light- 
ing purposes.  The  motor  cars  resemble  in  general 
appearance  those  used  on  steam  railways.  About 
one-half  of  these  cars  are  built  with  baggage  com- 
partments, the  passenger  compartment  seating 
about  thirty-two  persons.  The  remainder  of  the 
cars  are  full  seated  with  a  capacity  of  forty-two 
passengers  each.  The  cars  have  cross  reversible 
seats,  upholstered  in  plush,  with  center  aisle;  are 
provided  with  electric  heaters  and  lighted  with 
twenty  electric  lights.  Cars  are  equipped  with 
air-brakes.* 

Burlington  anclMt.  Holly  Branch  of  Pennsylvania 
Railroad. —  The  Pennsylvania  Railroad  has  sub- 
stituted electricity  for  steam  on  the  branch  line 


*The  following  gives  the  general  dimensions  and  perform- 
ance of  the  cars: 

Length  of  car,  40  feet;  weight,  20  tons;  maximum  speed,  35 
miles  per  hour;  average  speed  including  stops,  20  miles  per 
hour;  number  of  trucks,  2;  number  of  driving  wheels,  4;  num- 
ber of  motors,  2;  size  of  each  motor  50  horse-power.  Both 
motors  are  mounted  on  the  rear  truck,  the  controller  is  in  the 
front  vestibule  and  the  cars  always  run  in  one  direction.  The 
maximum  train  consists  of  motor  car  and  two  trailers. 


ELECTRICITY  AS  A  MOTIVE  POWER. 


491 


operating  between  Burlington  and  Mt.  Holly, 
New  Jersey.  The  following  is  a  brief  statement 
of  the  equipment  of  the  line: 

A  four  hundred  horse-power  boiler  supplies 
steam  at  one  hundred  and  twenty  to  one  hundred 
and  fifty  pounds  pressure  to  a  non-condensing 
compound  engine,  which  runs  at  a  speed  of  two 
hundred  and  fifty  revolutions  per  minute.  The 
generator  is  a  two  hundred  and  twenty-five  kilo- 
watt, five  hundred  fifty  to  six  hundred  volt,  eight 
pole  machine,  direct-connected  to  the  engine.  The 
track  and  roadbed  con- 
struction is  the  same  as 
that  of  the  single  track 
steam  roads  of  that  divi- 
sion of  the  Pennsylvania 
Railroad.  The  length  of 
this  branch  is  about  seven 
miles.  The  trolley  wire  is 
of  (Number  00  B.  &  S. 
gauge)  hard  drawn  copper 
suspended  between  wood- 
en poles.  There  is  a  continuous  trolley  wire  over 
the  entire  length  of  the  main  track.  Frogs  and 
switches  are  avoided  at  turn-outs  by  changing  the 
trolley  wheel  from  the  main  trolley  wire  to  a 
separate  trolley  wire  suspended  parallel  to  the 
main  wire  and  about  a  foot  from  it.  The  gener- 
ator station  is  located  at  the  Mt.  Holly  end  of  the 
line.  Double  truck  combination  baggage  and 
passenger  motor  cars  are  in  use.  The  furnishings 
are  similar  to  those  of  most  railroad  coaches. 


Motor  Car,  Mt.  Holly  Read. 


492 


RAIL  WA  Y  EQ  UIPMENT. 


The  total  weight  of  each  of  these  cars  equip- 
ped is  fifty-two  thousand  pounds.  Trailers  are 
standard  coaches  and  weigh  forty-two  thousand 
pounds.  One  motor  car  is  equipped  with  four 
fifty  horse-power  railway  motors;  two  series- 
parallel  controllers  (one  on  each  platform  of 
car);  two  trolleys  operating  in  tandem  on  the 

same  wire;  elec- 
tric heaters  and 
complete  air- 
brake outfit.  This 
car  is  geared  to 
make  a  speed  of 
forty  to  forty-five 
miles  per  hour. 
Other  motor  cars 
are  similarly 
equipped,  except 
that  each  has  two 
one  hundred 
horse-power  motors,which  are  geared  to  give  speeds 
of  forty-five  to  sixty  miles  per  hour  respectively. 
Electricity  has  been  in  use  on  this  road  since  1895. 
Nantasket  Beach  Branch  of  the  Neiv  York,  Netv 
Haven  &  Hartford  Railroad. — This  company  be- 
gan the  operation  of  its  Nantasket  Beach  Branch 
by  electricity  in  1895.  The  first  installation  was 
nearly  seven  miles,  which  was  extended  the  fol- 
lowing year  three  and  one-half  miles.  The  first 
year  the  double  track  line  was  equipped  with  a 
special  trolley  wire  which  had  the  shape  of  the  fig- 
ure eight.  The  extension  is  provided  with  the  third 


One  Hundred  Horse-power  Motor  with  Pin- 
ion, Mt.  Holly  Road. 


ELECTRICITY  AS  A  MOTIVE  PO^YER.  493 

rail  instead  of  the  trolley.  The  third 
rail  is  laid  in  the  center  of  the  track 
and  is  supported  on  white  ash  blocks 
four  inches  square  and  five  and  one-half 
inches  high,  doweled  into  the  ties/' 
Trolley  Wire,  Thcse  blocks  Were  especially  treated  by 
N  a  n  t  a  s  k  et  extractlug  thc  moisture  in  vacuum  pans 
^'^^^'  and  thoroughly  saturating  them  in  an 

insulating  composition.  The  third  rail  is  rolled 
with  a  special  section  and  weighs  ninety-three 
pounds  per  yard.  Rails  are  connected  together 
b}^  fish  plates  and  by  duplicate  flexible  ribbon 
bands  of  copper.f  The  third  rail  is  not  laid  at 
stations,  but  an  overhead  trolley  (connected  to 
the  third  rail  by  cable)  is  used  for  a  short  dis- 
tance. At  road  crossings  the  rail  is  simply  left 
out  and  an  underground  cable  connects  the  two 
sections  of  the  third  rail.  The  train  crosses  this 
ga^)  by  its  own  momentum.  The  road  is  an  ex 
ceedingly  difficult  one  on  which  to  attain  a  high 
rate  of  speed  as  there  are  a  great  number  of 
curves,  there  being  twenty-nine  curves  in  ten 
miles  of  track,  and  only  one  piece  of  tangent 
track,  about  a  mile  in  length,  which  is  level. 
The  generator  station  is  equipped  with  two  five 
hundred  kilowatt  generators  direct  connected  to 
compound,  condensing  engines,  which  have  been 
at  times  called  upon  for  a  load  fifty  per  cent, 
greater  than  normal.  The  motor  cars  are  equipped 
with  two  motors,  gear  ratio,  three  and  eighteen- 

*See  iUustration  on  page  464. 

f  The  contact  shoe  is  shown  in  illustration  on  page  465. 


494  RAILWAY   EQUIPMENT. 

hundredths  mounted  on  trucks  having  thirty-six 
inch  wlieels.  The  cars  are  furnished  with  circuit 
breakers  on  each  end,  automatic  air  brakes,  with 
air  pump,  direct  connected  to  an  electric  motor, 
carrying  a  pressure  of  ninety  pounds ;  also  with 
a  large  whistle  operated  by  air  from  the  brake 
reservoir.  The  motor  car  complete  without 
load  weighs  thirty-four  tons.  It  is  an  open 
car,  having  sixteen  benches,  each  bench  accom- 
modating six  persons,  making  a  total  seating 
capacity  of  ninety-six,  although  a  great  many 
times  there  have  been  as  many  as  one  hundred 
and  fifty  persons  on  a  car.  Cars  are  fifty-five 
feet  over  all  in  length.  Trailer  cars  are  of  the 
same  size,  weighing  approximately  twentj^-eight 
tons.  The  usual  train  con'sists  of  a  motor  car 
and  one  trailer,  but  at  times  there  have  been  as 
high  as  four  trailers  in  addition  to  the  motor  car. 
The  trains  make  a  schedule  speed  of  twenty  miles 
per  hour,  including  stops,  of  which  there  are 
fourteen  and  two  flag  stations.  There  have  been 
few  or  practically  no  delays  or  stoppages  caused 
by  any  electrical  defect.  A  train  of  two  cars  can 
easily  attain  a  speed  of  thirty  miles  per  hour 
within  a  minute  after  starting,  and  in  special 
tests  a  speed  of  sixty-five  miles  per  hour  has  been 
attained.  The  station  load  is  naturally  a  fluctu- 
ating one,  as  at  times  four  or  ^yo  trains  leave 
Pemberton  at  the  same  time  on  the  arrival  of  the 
Boston  boats.  Notwithstanding  this,  it  is  stated 
that  the  power  is  produced  at  the  rate  of  eight- 
tenths  of  a  cent  per  kilowatt  hour.    The  motor- 


ELECTRirTTY  AS  A  .\J<JTfVh:  J'(>WI<:R.  1'.I.> 

men  who  operate  this  branch  are  hremeii  taKen 
from  the  main  line  during  the  season  when  the 
electric  line  is  operated. 

The  New  Haven  System  is  exceptional  in  hav- 
ing a  verj^  large  mileage  within  a  small  and 
densel}^  populated  territory.  Its  passenger  traflSc 
is  the  source  of  a  large  part  of  its  revenue  and 
much  of  this  is  from  local  traffic.  These  are  the 
conditions  most  favorable  for  electrical  operation. 
The  success  of  the  Nantasket  Beach  Line  assures 
extensions  to  other  parts  of  the  system.  Two 
lines,  Hartford  to  New  Britain  and  New  Britain 
to  Berlin,  a  total  of  twelve  and  three-tenths  miles 
are  already  equipped  w4th  apparatus  very  similar 
to  that  used  on  the  Nantasket  branch. 

The  Metropolitan  Elevated  Baihvaij,  Chicago. — 
This  road  consists  of  twenty  miles  of  double  track 
on  elevated  steel  structure.  Standard  T-rails 
weighing  ninety  pounds  per  yard  are  used  for  the 
track  (gauge  four  feet,  eight  and  one-half  inches) 
and  a  forty-five  pounds  per  yard  T-rail  for  the 
contact  rail  of  the  third-rail  system.  This  rail  is 
placed  on  insulators  on  the  left  side  of  the  track, 
about  twelve  inches  from  the  center  of  the  left- 
hand  track  rail  and  is  raised  six  inches  above  the 
level  of  the  main  rails.  The  track  rails  are  bonded 
together  and  to  the  main  girders  of  the  elevated 
structure,  the  whole  being  used  as  a  metallic 
return.  The  feeders  consist  of  old  track  rails 
suitably  bonded  and  placed  in  a  wooden  box  be- 
tween the  main  tracks.  One  power  station  of 
four  thousand  six  hundred  kilowatts    capacity 


4 DC  RAILWAY   EQUIPMENT. 

supplies  the  whole  road.  The  engines  are  direct 
connected  to  five  hundred  volt  direct-current  gen- 
erators of  eight  hundred  kilovs^atts  and  fifteen 
hundred  kilowatts  capacity.  Each  motor  car  pulls 
three  trailers.  The  total  weight  of  train  is  ninety 
tons.  Air-brakes  supplied  by  an  electric  air- 
pump,  electric  heaters  and  electric  lights  are 
used.* 

The  Baltimore  &  Ohio  Railroad  Tunnel. — The 
largest  electric  locomotives  which  have  been  built 
are  in  use  on  the  Belt  Line  of  the  Baltimore  & 
Ohio  Railroad  in  the  city  of  Baltimore.  This  line 
runs  through  a  tunnel  one  and  one-fourth  miles 
long,  and  then  through  cuts  and  short  tunnels  to 
the  outskirts  of  the  city.  There  is  a  grade  of 
eight-tenths  per  cent,  for  nearly  the  whole  length 
of  the  tunnel,  and  beyond  it  a  long  grade  of  one 
and  one-half  x^er  cent.  The  steam  locomotive  is 
not  detached  from  the  train,  but  the  complete 
train  is  hauled  through  the  tunnel  by  the  electric 
locomotive,  and  the  two  locomotives  are  avail- 
able for  the  heavy  grade  outside  the  tunnel.  In 
the  station  there  are  four  seven  hundred  and  fifty 
horse-power  engines  driving  generators  of  the 
same  capacity,  giving  a  pressure  of  six  hundred 


*Tlie  dimensions  of  the  motor  cars  and  conditions  of  service 
may  be  generally  stated  as  follows:  Length,  45  feet;  Aveight, 
30  tons;  niaximiim  speed,  25  miles  per  hour;  average  speed,  in- 
cluding stops,  13  miles  per  hour;  number  of  stops,  3  per  mile; 
number  of  trucks,  2;  wheel  base  of  trucks,  54  inches;  diameter 
of  driving  wheels,  33  inches;  number  of  motors  per  truck,  1; 
size  of  motors,  100  horse-power  each;  number  of  series-parallel 
controllers,  2. 


ELECTRICITY  AH  A  MOTIVE  POWER.  497 

volts.  The  ordinary  trolley  was  impracticable,  both 
on  account  of  the  limited  space  available  in  the 
tunnel  and  the  very  heavy  currents  required.  The 
tunnel  is  low  in  places  and  the  overhead  conduc- 
tors are  placed  between  the  two  tracks,  seventeen 
feet  above  the  rails.  Outside  the  tunnel  they  are 
raised  to  twenty-two  feet.  The  conductor  consists 
of  a  heavy  plate  below  which  is  riveted  two  Z-bars, 
between  which  there  is  a  slot  of  one  inch.  The 
contact  is  a  brass  shoe  traveling  in  the  trough 
and  connected  to  the  locomotive  by  a  flexible 


Five  hundred  Kilowott  Railway  Generator.    Baltimore  &  Ohio  Railroad. 

sawbuck  arrangement  which  has  great  freedom 
of  movement.  A  heavy  copper  cable  carries 
current  to  the  motors,  which  returns  by  the  rails 
to  the  station.  The  locomotives  w^eigh  ninety- 
five  tons  each  and  rest  on  eight  driving  w^heels, 
w^hich  makes  the  full  weight  useful  for  prevent- 
ing slipping  of  the  wheels.  Each  locomotive  is 
made  up  of  two  units,  each  of  which  consists  of  a 
forged  iron  truck  frame  supported  upon  four 
wheels.  There  are  four  motors  of  about  three 
hundred  horse-power  each,  one  on  each  axle.  The 
motors  have  six  poles  and  are  placed  on  the 

32    Vol.  1 


498  RAIL^VAY  EQTTTP^rEXT. 

axles  which  extend  through  hollow  sleeves  on 
which  the  armatures  are  l)uilt.  The  motors  are 
supported  independently  of  the  axle  and  transmit 
their  power  by  projections  on  the  armature 
which  move  1)etween  lugs  cast  on  the  wheels. 
This  flexibility  prevents  the  violent  jarring  which 
would  otherwise  occur  on  an  uneven  track. 
There  is  a  sheet  iron  cab  on  the  locomotive  with 
ample  windows  and  provided  with  trap  doors 
through  which  the  motors  can  easily  be  reached 
whether  the  locomotive  is  standing  still  or  run- 
ning. The  locomotive  can  run  in  either  direction. 
It  is  equipped  with  series  parallel  controller, 
electric  air  pump,  air  brakes,  air  w^histle,  bell, 
and  safety  devices,  and  has  an  automatic  coupler 
of  the  Master  Car  Builders'  type  at  each  end.* 

Lowell  and  Sulmrhan  Street  Bailway  Company. — 
The  lines  of  the  Lowell  and  Suburban  Street 
Railway  Company  are  so  long  that  the  cost  of 
copper  prohibits  their  operation  from  one  station. 
The  power,  however,  is  generated  at  one  station 
and  is  transmitted  by  alternating  current  at  five 
thousand  volts.  It  is  reduced  to  a  low  voltage  at 
a  sub-station  and  then  transformed  into  direct 


*T]ie  following  are  some  of  the  principal  characteristics  of 
the  locomotives:  Weight,  190,000  lbs.;  draw-bar  pull,  42,000 
lbs.;  starting  draw-bar  pull,  60,000  lbs.;  length  over  draw-bars, 
34  feet,  6  inches;  height  over  all,  14  feet,  3  inches;  width  over 
all,  9  feet,  6;^  inches;  wheel  base  each  truck,  6  feet,  10  inches; 
diameter  of  drivers,  62  inches;  number  of  drivers,  8;  maximum 
speed,  70  miles  per  hour;  maximum  speed  full  draw-bar  pull,  15 
miles  per  hour;  maximum  speed  half  draw-bar  pull,  30  miles 
per  hour.  Motors  are  wound  for  250  volts  and  are  connected  2 
in  series. 


ELKcrfncrrv  AS  A  motivk  power.  499 

ourreiit  ])\  a  rotary  transformer  or  rotary  con- 
verter. There  were  at  first  two  sul)-stations  ])ut 
the  two  have  been  combined  into  one.  This 
involves  greater  losses  in  the  lines  but  is  more 
economical  in  running  expenses.  There  are  two 
generators  each  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  kilo- 
watts capacity,  Avhich  deliver  current  at  three 
hundred  and  thirty  volts  to  raising  transformers 
which  supply  the  line  with  five  thousand  volts. 
There  are  three  (No.  0,  Brown  &  Sharpe  gauge) 
wires  for  transmitting  the  three-phase  current. 
The  sub-station  is  ten  miles  distant.  In  the  sub- 
station there  are  lowering  transformers,  and  four 
machines  which  receive  the  alternating  current 
and  deliver  direct  current.  Some  fifteen  miles  of 
this  line  are  operated  through  the  rotaries.  The 
direct  current  averages  three  hundred  amperes 
and  reaches  a  maximum  of  eight  hundred  amperes. 
In  the  city  of  Lowell  the  trolley  wire  from  the 
rotaries  is  connected  to  the  trolley  wire  which  is 
fed  by  the  Lowell  central  station,  so  that  both 
sources  of  current  supply  one  system.  The  load 
upon  the  rotaries  varies  greatly  during  different 
seasons  of  the  year,  being  excessively  heavy  in 
summer  time.  This  road  attracts  attention  as 
it  is  one  of  the  first  roads  in  which  alternating 
current  was  used  for  transmission. 

TJie  Utah  Power  Compamj. — This  company  util- 
izes a  water  power  thirteen  miles  from  Salt  Lake 
City,  Utah,  by  placing  its  generating  plant  at  that 
place,  transmitting  the  energy  at  high  tension  to 
Salt  Lake  City  and  supplying  poAver  to  the  lines  of 


500  ^    RAIL  WAV   EQUIPMENT. 

the  Salt  Lake  City  Street  Railway  Company.  The 
The  generating  plant  consists  of  one  seven  hun- 
dred and  fifty  kilowatt,  four  hundred  volt,  seven- 
ty-two hundred  alternation,  two-phase  alternating 
current  generator,  direct  -  connected  to  water 
wheel.  The  power  station  is  built  to  accommo- 
date two  more  of  these  units  as  soon  as  the 
demand  for  power  shall  require  an  extension  of 

the  present  plant.  Two 
three  hundred  and  seven- 
ty-five kilowatt  two-phase- 
three-phase  step-up  trans- 
formers are  used  to  raise 
the  pressure  to  fifteen 
thousand  volts  for  three- 
phase  transmission.  The 
high  tension  line  consists 
of  three  (No.  2,  B.  &  S. 
e^ausre)  bare  copper  wires 

Six  hundred  and  fifty  Kilowatt    ,  ,       j>  .       i  j. 

(870  horse-power)  Two-Phase  Alter-  tweuty-IOUr  HlChCS  apart, 
nating  Current  Generator.  ^^^^^  -^  thirteen  milcS  lOUg. 

The  step-down  transformers  at  the  Salt  Lake  City 
sub-station  are  the  same  as  the  step-up  trans- 
formers at  the  generating  station,  and  deliver 
two-phase  current  at  four  hundred  volts  to  two 
four  hundred  kilowatt  rotary  transformers  for 
transforming  the  alternating  current  into  direct 
current.  These  rotaries  supply  the  trolley  lines 
with  current  at  ^ve  hundred  and  fifty  volts 
pressure. 

Niagara  Falls  Power  Company. — A  part  of  the 
power  of  the  Niagara  is  utilized  for  electric  rail- 


ELECTRICITY  AS  A  MOTIVE  POWER. 


501 


way  purposes,  both  at  Niagara  Falls  and  at 
Buffalo.  The  alternating  current-direct  current 
system  is  employed  here  to  good  advantage,  since 
high  tension  transmission  is  essential  to  the  use 
of  Niagara's  power  in  Buffalo.  The  hydraulic 
features  of  the 
power  station  are 
generally  familiar. 
The  generators  are 
each  of  five  thou- 
sand horse-power 
capacity  and  deliv- 
er two-phase  cur- 
rent at  twenty-two 
hundred  volts. 
The  armatures  are 
stationary  while 
the  fields  revolve 
in  a  horizontal  plane,  being  supported  upon 
the  upper  ends  of  the  vertical  turbine  shafts. 
The  high  tension  transmission  line  to  Buffalo 
is  twenty-six  miles  long,  three  miles  of  which 
are  in  Buffalo.  Five  miles  of  the  line  are 
along  the  Erie  Canal  and  the  remaining  eighteen 
miles  occupy  a  special  right  of  way.  The  poles 
are  thirty-five  to  sixty-five  feet  high,  depending 
on  the  locality,  and  are  set  sixty  to  seventy- 
five,  feet  apart  and  six  to  eight  feet  deep  in 
good  ground,  or  in  concrete  where  the  ground 
is  soft  or  unreliable.  Each  pole  carries  three 
arms,  two  for  transmission  lines  and  one  for  tele- 
phonic purposes.    The  former  are  each  twelve 


Five  Hundred  Horse-power  Rotary  Trans- 
former, Niagara  powerhouse.  Alternating 
current  from  the  5,000  horse-power  dynamos 
is  transformed  into  direct  current  for  rail- 

WEYS. 


502 


RAIL WA  Y  EQUIPMENT. 


feet  long  by  four  and  three-quarters  inches  thick 
by  five  and  three-quarters  inches  high,  and  are 
constructed  to  support  three  wires  on  each  side, 
giving  the  present  pole  line  a  capacity  of  four 
three-phase  transmission  circuits  of  three  wires 
each.  Iron  wires  are  suspended  along  the  outer 
ends  of  the  cross-arms  and  are  grounded  at  every 
fifth  pole,  forming  a  lightning  arrester  for  the 
entire  line.     At  sharp  curves  double  poles  and 

double  cross  -  arms 
are  provided.  The 
three  conductors 
are  of  three  hun- 
dred and  fifty  thou- 
sand circular  mills 
bare  copper  cables, 
supported  on  large 
porcelain  insulat- 
ors, and  have  a  ca- 
pacity of  five  thou- 
sand horse  -  power 
at  eleven  thousand 
volts,  which  may  be  increased  to  ten  thousand 
horse-power  by  doubling  the  transmission  volt- 
age. They  are  completely  transposed  every  five 
miles.  In  Buffalo  these  conductors  are  rur 
through  an  underground  subway  forty-two  hun- 
dred feet  long.  At  the  Buffalo  end  three-phase 
step-down  transformers  are  used  to  lower  the 
voltage  for  supplying  rotary  transformers  in  tlip 
power  station  of  the  Buff'alo  Street  Railway  Com- 
pany.     These  rotary   transformers  are  two  in 


Rotary  Transformer  at  Buffalo. 


ELECTRICITY  AS  A  MOTIVE  POWER. 


503 


number,  each  of  five  liundrecl  horse-power  capac- 
ity, and  deliver  five  liundred  volt  direct  current 
to  the  feeders  of  the  street  railway.  In  the  large 
power  house  at  Xiagara  Falls  three  five  hundred 
horse-power  rotary  transformers  have  been  in- 
stalled for  supplying  direct  current  to  the  local 
railways  and  to  the  Niagara  end  of  the  Buffalo 
and  Niagara  Falls  Electric  Railway.    In  this  case 


^JormMn 


Diagram  showing  utilization  of  Niagara  power.  R.  T.  is  a  Rotary  Trans- 
former, receiving  alternating  current  and  delivering  direct  current.  The 
circuit  to  Buffalo  is  shown  at  the  right. 

step-up  transformers  and  high  tension  line  are 
unnecessary,  but  step-down  transformers  are  re- 
quired to  reduce  the  pressure  from  twenty-two 
hundred  volts  (the  electro-motive  force  of  the 
large  generators)  to  that  required  by  the  rotary 
transformers  for  delivering  direct  current  to  the 
railway  circuits  at  about  live  hundred  and  fifty 
volts.  These  rotary  transformers  are  six-pole, 
two-bearing  machines,  running  at  five  hundred 
revolutions  per  minute.     The  generators  have  a 


604  RAILWAY   EQUIPMENT, 

capacity  exceeding  that  of  any  other  electrical 
machines  that  have  ever  been  made. 

The  Columbia  &  Maryland  Railway. — This  road 
lies  between  Baltimore  and  Washington,  a  dis- 
tance of  nearly  forty  miles,  with  a  branch  four 
miles  long.  The  booster  system  for  operating 
long  roads  with  direct  current  is  employed.  Two 
power  stations  are  located  twenty-three  miles 
apart,  each  having  four  eight  hundred  kilowatt 
generators  and  two  or  three  three  hundred  kilo- 
watt boosters.  The  boosters  are  double  machines, 
consisting  of  a  motor  which  receives  its  current 
fiom  the  main  generators  and  a  booster  dynamo 
mounted  on  the  same  shaft  through  which  cur- 
rent to  the  distant  parts  of  the  road  is  passed  and 
receives  an  increase  of  pressure  which  compen- 
sates for  the  loss  in  the  feeder  circuit.*  The  road 
bed  is  of  the  best  double  track  construction,  using 
bonded  T-rails  and  wooden  ties.  The  trolley  is 
operated  at  a  pressure  of  six  hundred  to  six  hun- 
dred and  fifty  volts.  The  maximum  grades  are 
two  and  five-tenths  per  cent,  in  the  country  and 
five  per  cent,  in  the  city  of  Baltimore.  Each 
motor  carf  pulls  two  trailers,  or  a  train  of  fifty 
tons  total  weight,  equipped  with  electric  lights 
and  heaters,  also  complete  air-brake  outfit,  includ- 


*0ne  of  the  macliines  is  shown  in  iUustration  on  page  434. 

f  The  dimensions  and  performance  of  the  motor  cars  are  as  fol-' 
lows:  Length  of  car,  35  feet;  weight,  25  tons;  maximum  speed, 
60  miles  per  hour;  number  of  trucks,  2;  number  of  driving 
wheels,  8;  number  of  motors,  4;  size  of  each  motor,  100  horse- 
power; number  of  series  parallel  controllers,  2;  number  of 
trolleys  (tandem)  2. 


ELECTRICITY  AS  A  MOTIVE  PO^yER.  505 

ing  electric  air-pump,  reservoir  and  engineer's 
valves.  The  schedule  includes  through  express 
i rains,  through  local  trains  and  suburban  service 
at  each  end  of  the  line.  The  maximum  speed  is 
sixty  miles  per  hour. 

The  City  cD  South  London  Bailway. — Although 
European  countries  are  backward  as  compared 
with  America  in  the  use  of  electricity  as  a  motive 
power  for  the  operation  of  railroads,  and  its  use 
is,  in  the  main,  confined  to  street  service,  yet  this 
road  has  been  in  operation  since  1S90.  It  is  an 
underground  road,  the  track  being  laid  in  an  iron 
tunnel  about  eleven  feet  in  diameter  and  six  and 
a  half  miles  long.  The  gauge  is  four  feet,  eight 
and  one-half  inches  (standard),  while  the  maxi- 
mum grade  is  three  and  one-third  per  cent.  The 
third  rail  and  sliding  shoe  are  used  for  supplying 
direct  current  to  the  locomotives  at  five  hundred 
volts  pressure.  The  locomotive  has  a  fixed  wheel 
base.  On  each  axle  is  mounted  a  fdiy  horse- 
power motor  armature.  The  motor  fields  are  of 
the  two-pole  type,  which  is  no  longer  in  common 
use.  The  average  speed  of  trains  is  thh'teen  and 
one-half  miles  per  hour,  with  a  maximum  speed 
between  stations  of  twenty-five  miles  per  hour. 
The  power  station  is  equipped  with  eight  boilers, 
four  vertical  compound  engines  and  four  four- 
hundred  horse-x)ower  belt  driven  direct  current 
generators. 

The  Lugano,  Sicitzerlmid,  Electric  Tramicay. — 
This  road  is  of  interest  because  of  the  use  of  the 
polyphase    alternating    system    throughout.     A 


506 


RAIL  WA  Y  EQ  UIPMENT. 


water  power  at  Maroggia  is  utilized.  A  three 
hundred  horse-power  horizontal  shaft  turbine 
drives  a  one  hundred  and  fift}^  horse-power,  five 
thousand  volt  three-phase  inductor  type  genera- 
tor. The  frequency  is  forty  periods  per  second, 
or  four  thousand  eight  hundred  alternations 
per  minute.  The  transmission  line  is  seven  miles 
long  and  consists  of  three  copper  wires  one-fifth 
of  an  inch  in  diameter.  A  single  transformer  sub- 
station is  located  at  the  middle  point  of  the  rail- 
way supplying  the  trolley  with  four  hundred  volt 

three-phase  c  u  r  r  e  n  t. 
The  road  is  three  miles 
long,  single  track,  run- 
ning  through  the 
streets  of  Lugano.  Two 
trolley  wires  one- 
fourth  of  an  inch  in 
diameter  are  suspend- 
ed ten  inches  apart 
over  the  track.  The 
rails  are  bonded  and 
serve  as  one  of  the  con- 
ductors of  the  three-phase  circuit.  Each  car  car- 
ries two  trolley  poles  and  is  equipped  with  a  twenty 
horse-power  three-phase  motor  and  a  controlling 
device  operated  from  either  end  of  the  car.  The 
motor  is  provided  with  a  transfer  gear  attach- 
ment, whereby  the  speed  may  be  changed  in  the 
ratio  of  one  to  four.  The  normal  speed  is  nine 
miles  per  hour.  This  road  has  been  in  successful 
operation  since  it  was  installed  in  1895. 


Four  Hundred  Kilowatt  Railway 
Generator. — Ilestonville,  Mantau  & 
Fairmount  Passenger  Railroad. 


ELECTRICITY  AS  A  MOTIVE  POWER.  507 

ELECTRIC    TRACTION   FOR    GENERAL    RAILWAY 
PURPOSES. 

The  application  of  electricity  to  general  service 
under  existing  conditions  gives  rise  to  a  number 
of  important  inquiries.  Is  it  practicable  ?  If  it 
is  practicable,  what  are  the  advantages  that  make 
it  desirable?  What  are  the  requirements  and 
forms  of  apparatus  and  methods  of  operation? 
If  it  is  feasible,  is  it  economical  ? 

There  is  no  question  as  to  the  possibility  of 
generating  electric  energy  in  any  c[uantity,  of 
transmitting  it  and  supplying  it  to  electric  motors 
in  capacities  much  greater  than  those  for  which 
steam  locomotives  have  ever  been  built.  There 
is  no  doubt  as  to  the  ability  of  an  electric  system 
to  perform  the  duties  of  a  steam  locomotive,  and 
there  are  numerous  points  of  advantage  possessed 
by  the  electrical  system.  The  steam  locomotive 
performs  several  fairly  distinct  classes  of  service; 
namely,  passenger  traffic,  both  suburban  and 
through,  and  freight  traffic.  There  are  also 
s^Decial  and  peculiar  conditions  to  be  met,  such 
as  those  in  tunnels,  cities  and  on  heav}^  grades. 
The  application  of  electricity  to  these  different 
requirements  may  be  separately  considered. 

Local  Passenger  Service. — Local  or  suburban 
passenger  trains  in  general  run  for  comparativel}' 
short  distances,  the  trains  are  small  and  the 
schedule  provides  trains  at  frequent  intervals. 
Moreover,  the  desideratum  on  local  lines  is  more 
frequent  service,  which  will  naturally  involve  a 
greater  number  of  trains  of  smaller  sizes.    Noise 


508 


RAILWAY  EQUIPMENT. 


Eight  Hundred  Kilowatt  Railway  Generator. 


and  dirt  are  partic- 
ularly to  be  avoid- 
ed in  cities  and 
suburbs  where  local 
passenger  trains 
are  run.  The  con- 
ditions of  moderate 
distance,  of  small 
trains  and  frequent 
service  are  most 
favorable  for  electrical  operation.  The  electric 
motor  can  be  built  cheaply  and  economically  for 
small  power  (which  is  not  the  case  with  the  steam 
locomotive),  and  a  schedule  in  which  small  units 
are  operated  in  frequent  succession  maintains  a 
fairly  constant  load  upon  generator  station  and 
conducting  lines,  so  that  they  operate  at  the  best 
efficiency  and  may  be  installed  at  much  less  first 
cost  than  would  be  required  if  the  same  aggre- 
gate energy  were  to  be  delivered  during  a  part  of 
the  time  to  a  few  trains.  The  conditions  best 
adapted  to  electric  traction  are,  therefore,  identi- 
cal with  the  requirements  of  local  passenger  and 
suburban  service.  The  advantages  of  the  use  of 
electricity  are  found  in  the  flexibility  and  econ- 
omy of  the  electric  system;  the  increased  com- 
fort in  transit;  the  frequent  service  and  conve- 
nience in  some  cases  of  an  increased  number  of 
stations,  all  of  which  tend  to  increase  traffic. 
The  avoidance  of  noise,  smoke  and  dirt  is  a 
distinct  advantage.  The  wide  extension  of 
suburban  railways  connecting  large   cities  with 


ELECTRICITY  AS  A  MOTIVE  POWER.  509 

surrounding  towns  is  the  best  proof  of  the  success 
and  the  economy  of  the  application  of  electricity^ 
to  this  class  of  work.  The  adoption  of  electricity 
for  elevated  roads  is  demonstrating  its  superiority 
over  the  steam  locomotive  in  a  class  of  service 
closely  related  to  suburban  ser- 
vice on  steam  roads.  The  types 
of  apparatus  in  use  are  referred 
to  elsewhere.  The  motor  car 
will  probably  retain  its  suprem- ^^^^^^^^l^"^  ^^^^^^ 
acy  for  short  roads  with  trains  Railway  service. 
of  moderate  size,  to  the  exclusion  of  the  electric 
locomotive,  devoted  entirely  to  the  production  of 
power  and  not  admitting  passengers  or  freight. 

Through  Passenger  Service. — If  electricity  is  to 
replace  the  steam  locomotive  for  heavy  service,  it 
is  possible  that  the  electric  power  must  be  sup- 
XDlied  to  the  train  in  the  same  manner  and  under 
the  same  conditions  as  steam  power  is  applied.  It 
would,  of  course,  be  possible  to  mount  motors  on 
each  car  of  a  train.  This  would  deliver  directly  to 
each  car  the  power  it  requires;  would  remove  the 
enormous  strains  on  coupling  attachments,  by 
which  the  power  is  conveyed  from  the  locomotive 
to  the  train;  and  would  take  advantage  of  the 
weight  of  the  train  for  tractive  effort.  On  the  other 
hand  a  large  number  of  small  motors  are  more 
costly  to  install  and  keep  in  repair  and  they  oper- 
ate at  a  lower  efficiency  than  a  few  large  motors. 
Moreover,  the  construction  of  railway  cars  is  the 
outcome  of  a  long  evolution  in  which  the  bear- 
ings, trucks,  springs,  etc.,  have  found  their  present 


r>l()  RAIL^YAY    EQUIPMENT. 

form.  If  a  motor  be  placed  on  the  car  axle,  an 
entirely  different  arrangement  of  trucks  would  l)e 
required  for  accommodating  the  motor  and  the 
power  would  be  applied  to  the  car  from  its  truck, 
causing  very  different  forces  to  act  from  those 
which  now  exist,  and  requiring  radically  different 
forms  of  car  construction.  Even  if  it  were  prac- 
ticable to  use  the  ordinary  type  of  construction 
used  in  street  car  work  for  operating  a  train  of 
self-propelled  cars  at  moderate  speeds,  other  con- 
ditions are  involved  at  high  speeds.  Trucks  of 
heavy  passenger  cars  are  very  different  from  those 
of  street  cars.  The  mounting  of  a  heavy  motor 
and  its  connection  to  an  axle  is  a  difficult  and 
delicate  matter  when  very  high  speed  is  to  be 
used.  In  the  steam  locomotive  there  are  recipro- 
cating parts,  but  they  are  comparatively  light  and 
are  accurately  balanced,  so  that  the  weight  ol  the 
parts  which  give  a  pounding  action  on  the  rails  is 
not  great.  The  electric  motor  is  heavy  and  its 
armature  must  be  in  close  mechanical  connection 
to  the  axle  which  it  drives.  The  steam  locomo- 
tive is  built  upon  a  heavy  strong  frame,  capable 
of  resisting  ordinary  obstacles 
and  affording  a  fair  j)rotection  to 
the  train  which  follows  it.  For 
equivalent  protection,  an  elec- 
trically operated  train  should 
Eighty  Horse-power  liave  a  heavy  and  substantial 
Railway  Motor.  locomotive  at  its  head.  In  an 
electric  locomotive  a  motor  may  be  connected  to 
the  axle  which  it  drives  in  one  of  several  ways. 


ELECTRICITY  AS  A  MOTIVE  POWER.  T)!! 

For  instance,  it  may  be  connected  hj  gearing. 
This  possesses  the  advantage  of  cushioning  the 
motor  by  supporting  it  on  springs  and  also  allows 
the  motor  speed  to  be  greater  than  the  axle  speed, 
which  is  desirable  except  at  high  train  speeds.  In 
the  gearless  motor  a  method  of  connecting  the 
armature  with  the  shaft  by  springs  or  flexible 
coupling  is  usually  necessary  in  order  to  prevent 
the  weight  of  the  armature  from  resting  directlj^ 
and  solidly  upon  the  wheels.  Neither  of  these 
methods  of  connection  between  the  armature  and 
the  axle  relieves  the  pounding  action  which  occurs 
on  a  rough  track,  or  on  a  fairly  good  track  at  high 
speed,  due  to  the  vertical  motion  of  the  axle, 
which  necessarily  tends  to  produce  a  variable 
speed  in  the  armature.  These  effects  may  not 
prove  very  serious  in  operation  at  moderate  speeds 
and  with  moderate  sizes  of  apparatus,  but  they 
demand  careful  consideration  when  weights  and 
speeds  are  increased.  It  may,  however,  prove 
necessary  to  mount  the  motor  entireh^  separate 
from  the  axles  and  make  connection  with  the 
driving  wheels  through  side  rods  similar  to  those 
now  in  use  on  locomotives.  This  would  avoid 
the  shocks  by  supporting  the  motor  entirely  from 
the  frame  of  the  locomotive,  and  would  also  have 
the  advantage  of  preventing  slipping  of  one  pair 
of  wheels.  When  motors  are  connected  in  series 
they  are  free  to  run  at  dift'erent  speeds,  and  if  one 
pair  of  wheels  slips  they  may  turn  rapidly,  while 
the  others  not  only  do  not  revolve  but  have  the 
torque  of  their  motor  reduced,  as  the  higher  speed 


512  RAILWAY   EQUIPMENT. 

of  the  motor  with  which  it  is  in  series  will  reduce 
the  current  through  the  motors.  The  problems 
in  the  electric  locomotive  are  mechanical  rather 
than  electrical.  The  final  form  of  apparatus  and 
the  best  method  of  proportioning  and  arranging 
it  must  be  determined  by  practical  experience. 


Truck,  Baltimore  &  Ohio  R.  R. 

The  advantages  of  electric  traction  aside  from 
the  question  of  cost  are  not  radical.  There  is  an 
absence  of  dirt  and  smoke,  which  are  especially 
objectionable  in  cities  and  tunnels  and  are  great 
annoyances  in  the  summer  season.  The  changes 
in  the  present  method  of  operating  steam  roads, 
which  would  be  most  favorable  for  electrical 
operation,  are  those  which  tend  to  preserve  a  uni- 
form load  distributed  along  the  line,  thus  placing 
a  uniform  average  load  upon  the  power  station. 
Another  change  from  present  methods  of  running 
steam  roads  which  may  give  electricity  an  advan- 
tage is  in  high  speed.  The  absence  of  reciprocat- 
ing parts  in  the  electric  motor,  the  uniformity  of 
its  torque  and  the  large  horse-power  for  which  it 
is  capable  of  being  built  may  give  the  electric 
locomotive  a  marked  advantage  over  the  steam 
locomotive  for  special  high-speed  service. 


ELECTRICITY  A  S  A  MO TIYE  PO VTER.  5 13 

It  may  be  noted  that  in  street  railways  the 
adoption  of  electricity  on  car  lines  was  begun  by 
using  as  much  of  the  old  material  as  could  be 
utilized  without  the  modifications  necessary  for 
the  new  conditions  which  the  electric  motor 
brought  with  it.  The  electric  car  and  electric 
railway  track  have  been  evolved  by  many  succes- 
sive steps  from  the  old  street  railway  apparatus. 
In  the  steam  railway  this  experience  will  not,  it 
is  probable,  be  lost  sight  of.  The  ordinary  ten- 
dency is  to  make  the  fewest  changes  possible  in 
methods,  material  and  equipment,  which  may  be 
unsuitable  under  the  new  conditions. 


Truck  for  Electric  Locomotive. 


Freight  Service. — The  requirements  for  freight 
service  involve  most  of  the  elements  found  in 
through  passenger  service  which  are  unfavorable 
for  electric  traction.  The  tendency  in  railway 
operation  is  toward  heavier  trains,  even  when 
this  involves  the  necessity  of  heavier  track, 
stronger  bridges  and  more  expensive  rolling 
stock.  The  frequent  trains  which,  to  a  certain 
extent,  are  desirable  in  passenger  service  and 
more  favorable  to  electric  traction  and  very  high 
speeds,  which  may  make  electric  traction  advan- 
tageous,, are  not  generally  required  in  the  freight 
service. 

33    Vol.  1 


514  RAILWAY  EQUIPMENT. 

Special  Conditioyis. — Electricity  offers  manj^  ad- 
vantages for  the  operation  of  railroads  under 
special  conditions,  such  as  in  tunnels,  in  cities 
and  towns  where  smoke  is  to  be  avoided,  on 
bridges  where  the  iron  work  is  injured  by  escap- 
ing smoke  and  gases,  and  also  in  switching  and 
handling  cars  where  cables  or  other  forms  of 
traction  are  used.  The  electric  locomotive  can 
be  built  for  great  power  and  may  find  special 
application  even  on  general  railways  in  assisting 
at  points  where  such  power  is  demanded.  For 
example,  electric  locomotives  may  be  used^  on 
very  heavy  grades  for  assisting  steam  locomotives 
or  for  relieving  them  entirely.  The  conditions 
would  be  particularly  favorable  where  water 
power  is  available  for  supplying  the  electric 
energy. 

RELATIVE  COST  OF  OPERATION  BY  STEAM  LOCOMOTIVES 
AND  BY  ELECTRICITY. 

The  cost  of  operating  a  railroad  by  steam  loco- 
motives and  electricity  is  practically  the  same  in 
almost  all  items  except  those  belonging  distinctly 
to  the  generation  and  application  of  power.  For 
example,  the  cost  of  road-bed  and  track,  stations, 
terminal  facilities  and  cars  is  practically  the 
same,  while  the  charges  for  maintenance  and 
operating  expenses  are  practically  identical  ex- 
cept in  relation  to  the  power  equipment.  The 
principal  elements  in  which  there  is  a  difference 
between  the  cost  of  electric  traction  and  steam 
traction  may  be  stated  in  brief,  as  follows : 


ELECTRICITY  AS  A  MOTIVE  POWER.  515 

ELECTRICITY.  STEA^^I. 

CONSTRFCTION. 

Power   House  s. — Bnildiug,       R  o  u  n  d  House  s. — Water  sta- 
power  apparatus,  including  tions,  coaling  stations,  etc. 

dynamos  and  switcliboards, 
car  barns. 

Lines. — Overhead  or  third  rail, 
feeder  system,  track  bond- 
ing, etc. 

Locomotive. — Motors,  control-      Locomotive,  tender, 
lers,  etc. 

MAINTENANCE. 

Power  plant,  line,  motors,  etc.      Locomotives,  tenders,  etc. 

Greater  wear  on  track  and  roll- 
ing stock. 

OPEEATING  EXPENSES, 

Wages.  —  Train    attendants,  W  ages.  —  Train   attendants, 

power  house  attendants,  line-  round  house  men,  water, 
men,  etc. 

Coal  or  water  power.  Coal. 

A  comparison  between  the  cost  of  electric  and 
steam  traction  indicates  very  clearl}"  their  respec- 
tive variations  as  the  character  of  the  service  to  be 
rendered  is  changed.  With  a  given  total  service 
to  be  performed,  the  adoption  of  many  small 
units  instead  of  a  few  large  ones  will  affect  the 
costs  by  both  methods;  it  will  decrease  the  first 
cost  of  the  electric  power  station  and  electric 
lines,  as  it  insures  a  more  constant  load;  it  will 
increase  the  cost  of  the  steam  locomotives  much 
more  than  that  of  electric  locomotives;  it  will 
increase  the  cost  of  maintenance  much  more 
rapidly  for  steam  than  for  electric  locomotives;  it 
will  increase  the  wages  for  train  attendants  more 
rapidly  for  steam  than  for  electricity,  as  a  greater 
amount  of  work  is  required  to  be  performed  upon 
the  steam  locomotive;  it  will  reduce  the  cost  of 


516  RAILWAY   EQUIPMENT. 

coal  in  the  electrical  system,  by  securing  a  more 
uniform  load  which  can  he  transmitted  at  greater 
efficiency  while  it  will  increase  the  cost  of  coal 
for  steam  locomotion. 


Switchboard.— Metropolitan  Elevated  Railway,  Chicago. 

Electric  traction  may  through  its  greater  con- 
venience for  passenger  traffic  lead  to  an  increased 
business  and  an  increased  income.  This  is  espe- 
cially true  of  local  and  suburban  service,  but  does 
not  as  yet  apply  to  any  great  extent  to  through 
traffic.  Short  distance  and  frequent  service  with 
light  trains  favor  electric  service,  while  long 
distances  and  heavy  trains  favor  steam  traction. 
The  relative  cost  of  electricity  and  steam  for 
each  kind  of  service,  depends  very  largely  upon 
local  conditions,  such  as  the  amount  of  service 
and  size  of  trains,  cost  of  apparatus,  cost  of  power 
and  distance  over  which  the  trains  are  to  be 
operated. 

THE   HEILMANN   ELECTRIC   LOCOMOTIVE. 

The  Heilmann  locomotive  merits  notice  here  a& 
it  attacks  the  problem  of  locomotion  in  a  new 
way,  and  seems  to  combine  different  elements  so 
as  to  secure,  apparently,  the  greatest  output  and 


ELECTRICITY  AS  A  MOTIVE  POWER.  517 

highest  efficiency  from  each.  It  also  affords  ex- 
cellent means  of  investigating  the  conditions  and 
measuring  the  power  required  for  running  at 
high  speeds.  The  fate  of  this  locomotive  in  com- 
petition with  the  best  types  of  steam  locomotive 
hinge>-  largely  upon  the  question  of  first  cost  in 
which  it  is  greatly  handicapped,  and  of  operating 
expense  in  which  it  has  a  decided  advantage,  and 
in  its  ^-ability  to  exceed  what  the  steam  locomo- 
tive is  able  to  attain  in  hauling  power  and  high 
speeds.  In  comparison  with  the  ordinary  electric 
locomotive  the  Heilmann  locomotive  is  superior 
in  requiring  no  conducting  system  and  in  placing 
both  the  speed  and  the  voltage  of  the  generator 
under  the  control  of  the  motorman;  but  the  cost, 
except  possibly  for  long  distances  and  large  pow- 
ers, will  probably  be  found  to  be  considerably 
greater.  This  electric  locomotive  is  really  a  com- 
plete electric  power  system  on  wheels.  The 
boiler  and  engine  which  supply  the  power  are  a 
part  of  the  locomotive,  and  the  electrical  appar- 
atus is  used  as  a  flexible  transmitter  between  the 
engine  and  car-axles.  The  advantages  which  are 
aimed  at  are  increased  power  of  engine  over  that 
which  is  practicable  in  the  locomotive;  higher 
efficiency  in  boiler  and  engine,  thus  reducing 
coal  consumption;  perfect  balance  of  reciprocat- 
ing parts  in  the  engine,  securing  great  uniformity 
in  the  motion  and  draw-])ar  pull ;  a  great  numl^er 
of  driving  wheels  supporting  a  heavy  weight  and 
giving  uniform  tractive  effort;  in  short,  mechan- 
ical conditions  for  securing  an  increase  of  power 


518 


RA IL  WA  Y   EQ UIPMENT. 


over  that  obtainable  from 
the  steam  locomotive,  which 
may  be  utilized  for  drawing 
heavier  trains  or  attaining 
higher  speeds.  A  locomo- 
tive of  six  hundred  horse- 
power was  built  and  tested. 
It  developed  four  hundred 
and  fifty  horse-power  at  the 
rims  of  the  drivers  when 
running  at  sixty-two  miles 
an  hour.  The  entire  weight 
of  the  locomotive  was  one 
hundred  and  fifteen  tons, 
carried  upon  sixteen  driving 
wheels.  The  maximum  ob- 
served speed  w^as  sixty-seven 
miles  per  hour.  The  loco- 
motive was  mounted  upon 
two  bogie  trucks  each  hav- 
ing four  axles,  upon  each  of 
which  was  mounted  a  motor. 
The  data  funiished  by  this 
locomotive  lias  formed  the 
basis  for  the  design  and  con- 
struction of  two  larger  loco- 
motives of  one  thousand  five 
hundred  horse-power  each. 
The  new  pattern  weighs  one 
hundred  and  fifteen  tons  and 
is  provided  with  a  Willans 
engine  with  six  cranks,  direct 


ELECTRICITY  AS  A  MOTIVE  PO^yER.  510 

connected  to  two  generators.  The  French  type 
of  locomotive  boiler  is  used.  The  field  circuits 
of  both  generators  and  the  eight  motors  are 
separately  excited  from  an  additional  dynamo, 
thus  placing  the  electrical  operation  under  com- 
plete control.  The  motors  are  four-pole,  and 
the  axle  passes  through  the  center  of  the  sleeve 
carrying  the  armature.  The  total  length  is 
fifty-two  feet,  the  length  of  truck  fourteen  and 
one-half  feet,  the  distance  from  axle  to  axle 
between  the  trucks  thirty-seven  feet,  and  the 
height  of  the  stack  above  the  rail  nearly  four- 
teen feet.  The  indicated  power  of  the  engines 
is  one  thousand  three  hundred  and  fifty  horse- 
power, and  the  efficiency  to  the  car  axles  is 
seventy-five  per  cent.  The  engine  can  run  with 
a  cut-off  which  will  insure  high  efficiency  and 
the  combustion  under  the  boiler  is  practically 
complete.  These  characteristics  adapt  the  loco- 
motive for  use  in  tunnels  and  for  switching  pur- 
poses. This  locomotive  is  referred  to  at  length 
as  it  without  doubt  represents  in  important  par- 
ticulars, a  permanent  step  in  the  progress  of  elec- 
trical transportation. 

PRESENT  AND  FUTURE  OF  ELECTRICITY. 

Histonj. — Tlie  history  of  practical  electric  trac- 
tion is  short.  The  idea  of  operating  moving  cars 
by  electricity  dates  back  a  number  of  years.  The 
electric  motor  may  probably  be  dated  from  the 
invention  of  the  Barlow  wheel  in  1826.  Within 
the  next  ten  or  fifteen  years  several  inventors 


520  RAILWAY  EQUIPMENT. 

worked  on  the  application  of  the  motor  to  the 
movement  of  a  car,  notably  among  them  being 
Thomas  Davenport,  of  Brandon,  Vermont,  who 
constructed  a  small  car  which  carried  batteries 
for  operating  the  little  motor  which  drove  the 
car  around  a  circular  electric  road.  Cars  which 
would  carry  passengers  were  constructed  later, 
driven  by  batteries.  It  was  soon  found  that, 
however  possible  it  might  be  to  construct  motors, 
the  cost  qf  batteries  for  operating  them  pro- 
hibited any  commercial  application.  A  new 
impetus  was  given  to  electrical  apparatus  upon 
the  invention  and  development  of  the  dynamo. 
Electric  lights,  both  arc  and  incandescent,  were 
well  known  in  principle  many  years  ago,  but 
awaited  practical  development  and  useful  appli- 
cation until  the  dynamo,  a  cheap  source  of  elec- 
tric energy,  became  available.  The  first  electric 
railway  was  operated  by  Siemens  and  Halske,  at 
the  Industrial  Exposition  in  Berlin,  in  1879.  A 
small  electric  locomotive  pulled  a  platform  car 
which  would  carry  eighteen  or  twenty  persons 
at  a  speed  of  about  eight  miles  an  hour.  During 
the  succeeding  years  experiments  were  carried  on 
both  in  Europe  and  America.  The  first  electric 
system  to  be  actually  operated  in  competition 
with  horses  on  street  railway  lines  was  by  Bentley 
&  Knight,  in  July,  1884,  in  Cleveland,  Ohio.  The 
road  was  about  two  miles  long.*  In  1888,  the  Union 

*  In  1887  a  catalogue  was  issued,  entitled,  "  The  Van  Depoele 
System  of  Electric  Railways,"  wliicli  gave  a  list  of  Van  Depoele 
roads,  six  in  all,  operating  a  total  of  fourteen  and  three-quarters 


ELECTRICITY  AS  A  MOTIVE  POWER. 


521 


Passenger  Railwaj^  of  Richmond,  Virginia,  began 
operation  with  electric  motors.  This  was  the 
first  large  road  to  adopt  electricity.  It  served  to 
overcome  much  of  the  ignorance  and  prejudice 
against  electric  traction,  and  since  that  time  the 
progress  of  the  electric  motor  has  been  so  great 
that  it  is  reasonable*  to  suppose  electricity  will 
soon  entirel}^  supersede  old  forms  for  street  rail- 


Electric  Locomotive. 


ways.  The  electric  roads  already  far  surpass  the 
old  horse-car  roads  in  cities,  and  have,  moreover, 
extended  their  limits  to  su1)urbs  and  outlying 
districts  and  towns  impossible  under  old  con- 
ditions. 

The  electric  railway  occupies  a  new  field  ])e- 
tween  that  occupied  by  the  horse  railway  and  the 
steam  railway.  It  has  grown  into  this  field  by 
development.  The  steam  railways  which  are 
adopting  electrical  apparatus  are  doing  so  in  the 

miles,  and  adds,  "As  tlie  matter  uoav  stands  Ave  have  more  miles 
of  electric  railway  now  in  successful  operation  than  all  the  other 
electric  raihvays  iu  the  world  combined.'' 


522  RAILWAY  EQUIPMENT. 

parts  of  their  traffic  wliicli  come  nearest  the  new 
field  which  electric  traction  has  made  its  own. 
The  rapid  extension  of  the  motor  in  practical 
lines  is  accompanied  or  preceded  by  rapid  advance 
in  other  lines.  The  dynamo  and  motor  of  early 
days  are  entirely  inadequate  to-day.  The  electric 
systems  nsed,  the  types  of  apparatus,  the  devel- 
opment and  perfection,  theoretically  and  prac- 
tically,   mechanically    and    electrically,    of    the 


Four  Hundred  Kilowatt  and  Eight  Hundred  Kilowatt 
Railway  Generators. 

dynamo,  the  motor  and  the  controlling  appar- 
atus, together  with  improvements  in  boilers  and 
engines  and  track  and  line  construction,  testify 
to  the  amount,  variety  and  excellence  of  the 
engineering  work  Avhich  has  been  put  forth  with 
such  marvelous  results. 

Electrical  Progress. — Electricity  does  not  work 
by  magic;  it  is  not  ready  at  a  motion  of  a  wiz- 
ard's hand  to  appear  in  new  forms,  to  change 
wild  fancies  and  visionary  schemes  into  actual 
useful   realities.     Development  has  been  made 


ELECTRICITY  AS  A  MOTIVE  POWER.  523 

possible  by  the  fact  that  electrical  action  is  not 
by  chance,  but  that  there  are  definite  principles- 
and  laws  of  electrical  action.  These  are  now 
known.  As  long  as  electrical  phenomena  were 
isolated  and  disconnected  there  was  little  advance 
but  when  scientific  investigation  had  been  car- 
ried on  in  the  field  of  electricity  and  what  had 
been  discovered  was  generalized  and  expressed 
in  the  language  of  mathematics,  then  this  basis 
of  keen  knowledge  of  electrical  phenomena  and 
accurate  statement  of  electrical  laws  became  a 
foundation  upon  w^hich  practical  achievements 
w^ere  possible.  The  development  of  the  electric 
railway  is  the  w-ork  practically  of  the  engineer, 
and  its  future  development  will,  in  the  main,  be 
his  W'Ork  also. 

Electrical  apparatus  is  not  based  upon  vague 
and  indefinite  theory,  but  upon  definite  and  exact 
law^s,  albeit  difficulties  and  uncertainties  arise  in 
the  application  of  these  law^s.  Many  undeter- 
mined elements  appear  in  the  application  of  elec- 
tricity to  the  heavy  service  of  general  railways. 
These  arise,  however,  not  from  the  uncertainties 
of  electricity  in  its  generation,  transmission  or 
application,  but  in  many  of  the  other  elements 
which  are  involved.  For  instance,  the  introduc- 
tion of  higher  speeds  than  those  which  have 
been  attained  involves  no  fundamental  electrical 
question,  but  it  does  involve  innumerable  mechan- 
ical problems. 

The  extension  of  electricity  into  new  fields  of 
electric  traction  is,  therefore,   dependent   more 


524 


RAIL WA  Y  EQ  UIPMENT. 


upon  mechanical  than 
electrical  conditions,  as- 
suming the  electrical 
engineer  has  no  new  ele- 
ments with  which  to  work. 
If,  however,  he  has  new 
material  or  new  property 
presented  to  him,  such  as 
a  higher  magnetic  perme- 
ability, or  a  higher  con- 
ductivity for  current,  he 
will  utilize  it  in  cheaper  and  more  efficient 
machines  and  circuits.  If  a  new  source  of  elec- 
tric energy  be  discovered,  some  method  of  trans- 


Railway  ISIotor. 


One  Hundred  Horse-power  Railway  Motor.    Top  Field  removed,  showing 
Armature  in  position. 


forming  directly  the  latent  energy  of  coal  into 
electrical  energy,  then  the  whole  problem  of 
electric  traction  will  l)e  revolutionized,  as  the 
cost  of  power  is  one  of  the  prime  elements  in 
the  problem  of  transportation. 


ELECTRICITY  A  Si  A  MOTIVE  POWER. 


525 


In  conclusion  it  may  be  said,  a  few  years  has 
sufficed  to  develop  insignificant  and  experimental 
electric  roads  into  completed  railway  systems 
which  fill  the  streets  of  cities  and  towns  and 
send  out  radiating  lines  in  every  direction  into 
the  surrounding  country.  A  new  field  of  trans- 
portation has  thus  been  evolved  which  rapidly 
encroaches  upon  an  important  branch  of  general 
railway  service.  The  motor  created  new  con- 
ditions, and  led  to  new  methods.    Its  possibilities 


One  Hundred  Horse-power  Railway  Motor  complete. 

and  limitations  are  now  fairly  defined.  Its  pre- 
sent held  in  connection  with  general  railway 
business  is  confined  to  local  traffic  over  short 
distances.  It  is  possible  that  it  may  develop 
new  methods  of  operating  which  wall  be  superior 
to  those  now  existing.  Who  can  doubt  this  in 
view  of  w^hat  has  occurred?  Taking  all  the  cir- 
cumstances of  the  past  and  the  present,  we  may 
confidently  look  forward  to  the  occupancy  by 
electricity  of  an  ever  widening  field  in  the  gen- 
eral transportation  interests  of  the  world. 


APPENDIXES. 


HI  djnssaij  nnr»is 

japJOSaiaaoHC 
3in3aa;oiq3i3ji 


0'<1'-«1<000 

I  I  r  I  I  I 

co©oo5«ao 


•  r    1  T 


-sqTni 
no  iqSlsji 


O     ■  1^  O  w  tr? 

1,0     •  ic  o  ~  C5 
X      •  -*  Ci  ^  X 


Q  O  -"T  X  -*"J<  X 

C-^Ci  —  MuOOt 

t~  1-1  «=  t~  t^  X  X  —  X  CI 


•O     •      -O  O  C  : 


•saqDiiiuifftadqji 


CJ,     ■  <M  CI  OJ 


'^'^■^■^     l-^*^      I -^  «0  «0  CO -^ -^  03  d -^  55  CO  •«# 


m    •eo-*-^'*i-0'*;o^si=«s 


CSXXXtSXOOOOX 


si=i:s-*tr;s5t;;;s^Xir-C'ii-~c:c:c5Csc;xxxxciC5i» 


■*->*«0-<l<C<l'*'(MM0')-*OCJC<l<M  <N.-*  <N  Ca  (M.(M  <MOJ(M<MC3->i<^-*ejc<IS<lQ0 


■jj  -Jbs  m  B9qni 


u-3  12  1;  t» 


c^  -^  o 
^  -^  d 


noaj  'jbs  ni 
»3jv  xoa  ^m 


-"         -Ol-H 


IC  CJ  IM  O  CJ  »J  .-1  i-i  .— l-^  —1  — .  r-H  . 


XXXOC5~XO— I  —  — ic<i-*--c<i«o— ceJ5»so5050Xt^X^xr~r^xx5^03; 


o  1^ 


.S        TS        .S-3 


*        CC  -      - 


3      a 
o r 


:t '"  C:  i  i  S  —  '^ 
J-. 'j. 'r  'x/'rx. 


—  r-f  •_;  1  -  r~  'jr  ..-:  x  K  is 
X  r.  X.  s-  r.  J:  X  A  r.  -j: 


34    Vol.  I 


(5-i9j 


APPENDIX  B. 

PARTS  OF  THE  LOCOMOTIVE. 

The  parts  which  manufacturers  of  locomotives  buy  in  the  market  frorn 
other  manufacturers  are  indicated  by  an  asterisk  (*). 

[Note.— See  chapters,  "Description  of  Locomotive";  "Locomotives  and 
Cars  of  the  World."] 

Air  Pump  Exhaust  Pipe. 

Arch  Brace. 
*Air  Cocks. 
*Air  Signal  Hose. 
*Air  Brake  Hose. 

Arch  Hand  Rail. 
*Air  Pump  Lubricator. 
*Air  Gauge. 

Ash  Pan  Damper  Handle. 

Air  Drum  Bracket. 
*Air  Drum. 

Ash  Pan. 

*Air  Brake  Pump. 
*Air  Cut  Out  Valve. 
*Air  Pump  Governor. 
*Air  Strainer. 
*Air  Pump  Throttle. 

Buffer  Beam. 

Blower. 

Balance  Plate. 

Balanced  Valve. 

Bridges. 

Back  Cylinder  Head. 
*Boiler  Lagging. 
*Boiler  Jacket. 
*Boiler  Sheets. 

Bell. 

Bell  Stand. 

Back  Up  Eccentric. 

Back  Up  Eccentric  Rod. 

Back  Up  Eccentric  Strap. 
*Blower  Cock, 
'^Brake  Valve  Reservoir. 
^Branch  Pipe 

Cinder  Chute. 

Cinder  Chute  Slide. 

Cleaning  Door. 

Cylinder. 

Cylinder  Saddle. 


Cylinder  Head  Casing. 

Cylinder  Lagging. 

Cylinder  Cocks. 

Cylinder  Cocks  Rigging. 

Cylinder  Casing. 

Cross  Head  Pin. 
*Cross  Head.     (If    steel,  they 
purchase.) 

Counter  Balance  Spring  and 

Rig. 
*Check  Valve. 
*Check  Valve  Case. 

Circumferential  Seam. 

Crown  Bars. 
*Chime  Whistles. 

Cab. 

Cylinder  Cock  Lever. 
*Cylinder  Lubricator. 

Cab  Bracket. 

Counter  Balance  Weight. 

Dry  Pipe  Joint. 
*Draw  Bar. 
*Draw  Head. 

Deflector  Plate. 

Deflector  Plate  Adjuster. 

Draft  or  Petticoat  Pipe. 
*Driving  Wheel  Tire. 
*Driving  Wheel  Centers.  (They 
purchase   if  steel;    if   cast 
iron,  they  make.) 
*Driver  Brakes. 

Driver  Springs. 

Driver  Spring  Hangers. 

Driver  Spring  Equalizers. 

Driver  Spring  Hanger  Brace 

Driving  Box  Shoe. 

Driving  Box  Wedge. 

Driving  Box. 

Driving  Axle. 


(530) 


APPEXDTX  B. 


531 


^DelivLM'y  to  Drum. 
*I)rip  ('(x'k. 
H)vy  Pipe. 

Dr}^  Pipe  Hangers. 

Dome. 

Dome  Cap. 

Dome  Casing. 

Extension  Front. 

Exhaust  Port. 

Engine  Truck. 

"Engine  Truck  Wheel.    (If  cast 
iron  they  make;  if  wrought 
iron  or  steel  they  purchase, ) 
*Engine  Truck  Tire. 

Engine  Truck  Axle. 

Engine  Truck  Brass. 

Engine  Truck  Box. 

Engine  Truck  Pedestal. 

Engine  Truck  Frame. 

Engine  Truck  Pedestal  Brace. 

Engine  Truck  Frame  Brace. 

Engine  Truck  Equalizer. 

Engine  Truck  Spring  Hanger. 

Engine  Truck  Spring. 

Engine  Truck  Spring  Band. 

Engine  Truck  Spring  Pocket. 

Precentric  Connection.     Back 
Up. 

Eccentric  Connection.        Go 
Ahead. 

Expansion  Pad. 

Expansion  Link. 
*Engineer's  Brake  Valve. 

Flagstaff. 

Front  Frame. 

Front  Cylinder  Head. 
^Flues. 

Frame  Brace. 

Frame  Splice. 

Fire  Door. 

Feed  Pipe  Hanger. 
*Feed  Pipe. 
*Feed  Pipe  Hose. 
*Fire  Box  Sheets, 

Guides. 

Guide  Yoke. 

Guide  Block. 

Go  Ahead  Precentric, 

Go  Ahead  Eccentric  Rod. 


Go  Ahead  Eccentric  Sti'ap. 

Grate  Shaking  Kig. 

Gauge  Lamp. 

Gauge  Cocks. 

Hose  Hangers. 

Headlight  Step. 

Headlight  Bracket. 
*Head light  Case. 
*Headlight  Reflector. 
*Headlight  Burner. 

Horizontal  Boiler  Seam. 

Hand  Rail. 

Hand  Rail  Brackets. 

Hand  Hold. 
*Injector. 

*Injector  Overflow. 
*Injector  Throttle. 

Jacket  Bands. 

Key. 

Link. 

Link  Block. 

Link  Block  Pin. 

Link  Hanger. 

Lower  Rail  of  Frame. 

Main  Rod. 

Main  Rod  Front  Strap. 

Main  Rod  Connection. 

Main  Frame. 

Number  Plate. 

Netting, 

Nozzle  Stand, 

Nozzle  Tip. 

Nigger  or  T  Head. 

Oil  Pipe  Plug. 

Oil  Pipe. 

Oil  Can  Shelf. 

Pilot. 

Petticoat  or  Draft  Pipe, 

Piston  Packing. 

Piston  Rod. 

Piston  Head. 
*Piston  Packing  Rings. 
*Pump  Connection. 

Pedestal  Brace. 
*Pump  Piston  Packing. 
*Pump  Exhaust  Connection. 
*Pump  Steam  Connection. 
*Pump  Valve  Case. 
*Primer. 


532 


APPENDIX  B. 


Parallel  or  Side  Rod. 

Pilot  Bracket. 

Quadrant. 

Relief  Valve. 

Rocker. 

Rocker  Box. 

Reach  Rod. 

Rod  Bush. 

Rocking  Grates. 

Running  Board. 

Reverse  Lever, 
^Signal  Lamp. 

Smoke  Arch  Door. 

Smoke  Arch  Front. 

Smoke  Arch  Ring. 

Stack  Base. 

Smoke  Stack. 

Steam  Chest. 

Steam  Chest  Casing  Cover. 

Steam  Chest  Cover. 

Steam  Passages  to  Chest. 

Steam  Ports. 

Safety  Hanger. 
^Signal  Pipe. 

Suspension  Stud. 
*Steam  Bell  Ringer. 

Sand  Box. 

Sand  Box  Lever. 

Sand  Pipe. 

Side  or  Parallel  Rod. 
*Steam  Cylinder  Brake  Pump. 
*Steam  Pipe. 
*Steam  Valve. 

Sling  Stays. 
*Stay  Bolts. 

Stand  Pipe. 
^Safety  Valves. 


*Steam  Gauge. 

Steam  Turret. 
^Signal  Whistle. 

Sand  Lever. 

Shake  Lever  Stub. 
*Signal  Pipe. 
*Signal  Pipe  Hose. 

T  or  Nigger  Head. 

Truck  Center  Casting. 
*Truck  Brake. 
*Train  Pipe  Connection. 
*Train  Pipe. 

Tumbling  Shaft. 

Tumbling  Shaft  Arm. 

Tumbling  Shaft  Lever. 
*Tube  Sheet. 

Throttle  Pipe. 

Throttle  Valve. 

Throttle  Bell  Crank. 

Throttle  Stem. 

Throttle  Lever. 
*Train  Pipe. 
*Train  Pipe  Hose. 

Tail  Piece  of  Frame. 

Valve  Yoke. 

Valve  Stem. 
*Valve  Stem  Packing. 

Valve  Seat. 

Valve  Stem  Rod. 

Ventilator. 

Wheel  Guard. 

Wash  Out  Plug. 

Wedge  Bolt. 
*Water  Pipe. 
*Water  Valve. 

Whistle  Rig. 
*Whistle  Signal  Valve 


APPEI^DIX  C. 


COST    OF    ELECTRICAL    CONDUCTORS. 

TABLE  I. 
Cost  of  copper  for  outgoing  and  return  circuits  (without  rail 
return)  for  delivering  one  liorse-power  on  axle  of  car;  volts 
delivered,  500  to  15,000;  volts  drop  in  line  equal  one-tenth  of 
volts  delivered;  efficiency  of  motor  and  gearing,  80%;  cost  of 
copper,  15  cents  per  pound. 


Miles. 


9 

10 
12 
14 
16 
18 
20 


500  V. 


600  V 


$  20.70 

83.00 

186.00 

332.00 

518.00 


$  14.40 

57.60 

130.00 

231.00 

360.00 

518.00 

716.00 

922.00 

1164.00 

1440.00 


700  Y 


2000  V 


5000 Y.     10000 Y. 


$  10.60 

42.40 

95.20 

170.00 

265.00 

380.00 

520.00 

678.00 

860.00 

1060.00 


$    1.30 

5.20 

11.70 

20.80 

32  50 

46.80 

G3.80 

83  20 

105.00 

130.00 

187  00 

255.00 

333.00 

421.00 

520.00 


\       .21 

.83 

1.86 

3.32 

5.18 

7.45 

10.10 

13.25 

16.70 

20.70 

29.80 

40.50 

.53.00 

67.20 

82.80 


)       .05 

.21 

.47 

.83 

1.29 

1.86 

2.52 

3.30 

4.17 

5.15 

6.80 

10.10 

13.25 

16.80 

20.70 


15000  V. 


.02 

.09 

.21 

.36 

.57 

.83 

1.12 

1.36 

1.85 

2.30 

3.30 

4.50 

5.90 

7.35 

9.20 


TABLE  II. 

Cost  of  copper  in  outgoing  conductor  for  delivering  one 
horse-power  on  axle  of  car;  volts  at  car,  600;  volts  drop  in  out- 
going conductor,  60  to  300  (for  total  drop  add  drop  in  rail  return 
circuit) ;  efficiency  of  motor  and  gearing,  80%;  cost  of  copper, 
15  cents  per  pound. 


Miles. 

60  v. 
$  3.60 

90  V. 

120  V. 

180  V. 

1  240  V. 

300  V. 

1 

*  2.40 

$  1.80 

$  1.20 

$   .90 

$   .72 

2 

14.40 

9.60 

7.20 

4.80 

3.60 

2.88 

3 

32.40 

21.60 

16.20 

10.80 

8.10 

6.48 

4 

67.60 

38.40 

28.80 

19.60 

14.40 

11.52 

5 

90.(0 

60.00 

45.00 

30.00 

22.50 

18.00 

6 

129.00 

86.00 

65. 0() 

43.20 

32.50 

25.90 

7 

176.00 

117.00 

88.00 

48.00 

44  00 

35.10 

8 

231.00 

153.(10 

115.20 

76.. 50 

57.60 

46.10 

9 

194.00 

146.00 

97.00 

73  GO 

58.20 

10 

240.00 

180.00 

120.00 

90.00 

72.00 

12 

259.  (JO 

173.0(t 

124.50 

103.60 

14 

235. CO 

176.00 

141.00 

16 

231.00 

184.40 

18 

291 .00 

2.32.80 

20 

288  00 

(533) 


534 


APPENDIX  C. 


TABLE  III. 

Approximate  volts  drop  in  rail  return  for  delivering  100  to 
1,500  horse-poAver  on  car  axle;  weight  of  rail,  80  j^ounds  per 
yard  (for  other  weights  the  distance  for  same  drop  varies  as  the 
weight) ;  single  track  (for  double  track  the  distance  for  same 
drop  is  doubled) ;  volts  at  car,  600;  efficiency  of  motor  and  gear- 
ing, 80^. 


Miles. 

100  n. -P. 

200  H. -P. 
6  volts. 

400  H.-P. 

600  H.-P. 

800  H.-P. 

1000  H.-P. 

1500  H.-P. 

1 

3  volts. 

12  volts. 

18  volts. 

24  volts. 

30  volts. 

45  volts. 

2 

6 

12 

24 

36 

48 

60 

90 

3 

9 

18 

36 

54 

72 

90        •• 

4 

12 

24 

48 

72 

96        " 

5 

15 

30 

60 

90 

6 

18 

36 

72 

7 

21 

42 

84 

8 

24 

48 

96 

9 

27 

54 

10 

30 

60 

12 

36 

72        '• 

14 

42 

84 

16 

48 

96 

18 

54 

20 

60 

TABLE  IV. 

Cost  of  copper  for  delivering  400  horse-power  and  200  horse- 
power on  car  axle;  complete  copper  circuits  without  rail  return, 
also  copper  circuit  with  rail  return  (single  track) ;  volts  at  car 
600;  total  drop  in  pressure,  100  volts;  efficiency,  cost  of  copper 
per  pound,  etc.,  as  in  preceding  tables. 


400  H.-P. 

200  H  -P. 

Miles. 

Without 
Rail  Return. 

With 
Rail  Return. 

Without 
Rail  Return. 

With 
Rail  Return. 

1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
7 

$    34.50 
138.00 
310.00 
552  00 
863.00 
1240.00 
1690  00 

$      9.84 
45.60 
121.60 
266.40 
504  CO 
810.00 
1180.00 

$    17.25 
69.00 
155.00 
276.00 
431.00 
620.00 
845.00 

$      4.60 

19.00 

47.40 

91.00 

154.00 

244.00 

364.00 

APPENDIX  a  '  535 

Table  I.  gives  the  cost  of  a  complete  copper  circuit  for  trans- 
mitting one  horse-power  under  definite  conditions.  It  will  be 
noted  that  the  cost  decreases  rapidly  as  the  voltage  is  increased, 
and  that  with  the  same  cost  the  distance  increases  directly 
with  the  voltage.  Twenty  dollars  and  seventy  cents  is  the  cost 
for  five  hundred  volts  one  mile,  for  five  thousand  volts  ten 
miles  and  for  ten  thousand  volts  twenty  miles.  If  the  loss  in 
the  conductors  be  twice  as  gTeat — twenty  per  cent,  instead  of 
ten  per  cent. — the  cost  of  copper  will  be  reduced  one-half.  If 
three  phase  alternating  current  is  used,  the  cost  is  three-fourths 
of  that  given  in  the  table. 

Table  II.  gives  the  cost  of  copper  in  the  outgoing  copper 
conductors,  and  does  not  take  into  account  the  return  circuit. 

Table  III.  gives  the  drop  in  volts  in  the  rail  return  circuit 
This  is  liable  to  variations  due  to  bonding  of  rails.     Insufficient 
or  defective  bonds  may  greatly  increase  the  track  resistance. 

The  total  drop  in  voltage  between  station  and  car  is  the  sum 
of  the  drops  in  the  outgoing  and  return  circuits.  If  a  total 
loss  of,  say,  one  hundred  volts  is  allowed,  the  drop  in  the  rail 
return  is  to  be  found  first.  The  difference  between  this  and 
one  hundred  volts  is  the  droj)  for  which  the  outgoing  circuit  is 
to  be  calculated.  If  the  distance  be  three  miles  and  the  power 
one  hundred  horse-power,  the  rail  drop  is  but  nine  volts,  and 
ninety-one  volts  is  allowed  inthe  copper  outgoing  circuit.  If, 
however,  the  power  is  six  hundred  horse-power  the  rail  drop  is 
fifty-four  volts  and  sufficient  copper*  must  be  placed  in  the 
feeders  to  reduce  the  drop  to  forty-six  volts.  The  drop  in  the 
rail  should  not  exceed  that  in  the  outgoing  circuit.  "When  this 
would  otherwise  occur  it  is  to  be  prevented  and  the  two  drops 
kept  practically  equal  by  supplementing  the  rail  circuit  with 
copper  feeders.  If  the  current  is  small  the  rail  greatly  reduces 
the  cost  of  outgoing  copper.  For  very  light  loads  it  is  reduced 
to  nearly  one-fourth  of  what  it  would  be  if  the  rail  were  not 
effective  as  a  conductor 

Table  lY.  shows  the  effectiveness  of  the  rail  return  circuit. 
The  cost  of  copper  for  transmitting  four  hundred  horse-power 
and  also  for  two  hundred  horse-power  is  given  both  with  and 
without  rail  return.  In  the  latter  the  conditions  would  bo  filled 
if  there  were  two  trolley  wires  with  feeding  systems,  one  for 
outgoing  and  the  other  for  the  return  circuit.    It  will  be  noted 


536 


APPENDIX  C. 


that  the  rail  return  rediices  the  cost  for  short  distances  to  nearly 
twentv-fire  per  cent,  and  that  at  five  miles  it  is  reduced  nearly 
one-half  for  four  hundred  horse-power  and  to  nearly  one-third 
for  two  hundred  horse-power. 

Some  of  the  alx)ve  values  are  shown  graphically  in  the  fol- 
lowing diagram: 


Curves  of  cofct  of  copper  for  different  distacees  with  and  without  rail 
return  circuit: 
A —    600  volts,  Copper  Return  Circuit 10^  Loss 


B— 

600 

C— 

600 

D- 

600 

E- 

600 

F- 

2000 

G— 

&noo 

H— 

10000 

P.aU 


Copper 


I 


.50^ 
.10^ 
.10^ 
■10^ 


(403  H. -P.) 
(200  H. -P.) 
(4<30  H.-P.) 


On  the  vertical  line  corresponding  to  three  miles  it  will  be 
observed  that  the  loss  with  copper  return  circuit  is  reduced 
from  $130.00  per  horse-power  when  the  loss  is  ten  per  cent,  to 
$78.00  when  the  loss  is  allowed  to  reach  sixteen  and  two-thirds 
per  cent.  When  the  rail  is  the  return  circuit  the  cost  reduces 
to  $30.00  per  horse-power,  when  the  jx)wer  transmitted  is  four 
hundred  horse-power,  and  to  $23.00  when  the  power  is  two 
hundred  horse-power.  The  cost  at  two  thousand  volts  for  com- 
plete copper  circuit  and  ten  per  cent,  loss  is  $11.70  and  the  cost 
at  ten  thousand  volts  is  but  47  cents.     The  cost  of  copper  for 


APPEXDIX  r,  537 

three  phase  alternating  current  is  three-fourths  of  this,  or  36 
cents  at  ten  thousand  volts.  The  cost  of  copper  Avhen  there  is 
rail  return,  single  track,  and  when  there  is  a  loss  of  fifty  per 
cent,  of  the  voltage  delivered  (/.  c.  three  hundred  volts,  equal 
thirty-three  and  one-third  per  cent,  of  the  voltage  at  the  power 
house) ,  is  given  on  the  basis  of  four  hundred  horse-power  deliv- 
ered. It  is  comparatively  low  at  first,  but  increases  rapidly 
beyond  a  distance  of  nine  or  ten  miles. 


APPENDIX  D. 

EXPLANATION  OF  A  POPULAK  FOEM  OF  AUTOMATIC  AIR  BKAKE. 

The  Westinghoiise  Air  Pump  consists  of  an  air  compressing 
piston  in  the  lovrer  cylinder  driven  by  direct  connection  with 
the  piston  of  a  steam  engine  in  the  upper  cylinder.  The  air  is 
delivered  to  the  Main  Eeservoir. 

The  Pnmp  Governor  closes  the  steam  pipe  leading  to  the 
pump  "when  the  desired  maximum  air  pressure  is  attained,  and 
opens  the  steam  pipe  again  when  the  air  pressure  has  been 
slightly  reduced,  so  that  no  attention  is  needed  from  the  en- 
gineer. 

The  Engineer's  Brake  Valve  is  manipulated  by  the  engineer, 
as  desired,  to  open  communication  between  the  main  reservoir 
and  the  train  pipe,  or  to  close  this  opening  and  open  the  train 
pipe  to  the  atmosphere  when  the  brakes  are  to  be  applied. 

The  Triple  Valve  contains  a  piston  engaging  by  a  stem  with 
a  slide  valve  for  opening  and  closing  ports.  The  outer  side  of 
this  piston  is  exposed  to  the  train  pipe  pressure  and  the  side 
toward  the  slide  valve  is  exposed  to  auxiliary  reservoir  pres- 
sure; it  is  moved  one  way  or  the  other  by  a  slight  preponder- 
ance of  pressure  on  either  side.  When  train  pipe  pressure  is 
the  greater  the  piston  and  slide  valve  are  moved  so  as  to  open 
a  small  port  from  the  train  pipe  to  the  auxiliary  reservoir  for 
charging  the  latter,  and  a  larger  port  from  brake  cylinder  to 
atmosphere  to  release  the  brakes.  "When  auxiliary  reservoir 
pressure  is  the  gTeater,  the  piston  and  slide  valve  are  moved  in 
the  opposite  direction  so  as  to  close  both  the  openings  above 
mentioned,  and  then  to  open  a  passage  from  the  auxiliary  reser- 
voir to  the  brake  cylinder  to  apply  the  brakes. 

The  normal  condition  when  running,  is  with  the  main  res- 
ervoir, train  i)ipe  and  auxiliary  reservoirs  charged  with  com- 
pressed air  and  the  brakes  off.  A  reduction  of  pressure  in  the 
train  pipe  by  escape  to  the  atmosphere  at  engineer's  valve,  or 
at  the  conductor's  valve,  or  by  the  bursting  of  a  hose  or  other 
breaking  of  train  pipe,  applies  the  brakes.  A  restoration  of 
pressiu'e  in  the  train  pipe  from  the  main  reservoir  by  proper 
moving  of  the  engineer's  valve,  releases  the  brakes  and  re- 
charges the  auxiliary  reservoirs  for  further  use. 

The  Cut-Out  Cock  in  the  branch  pipe  and  the  release  Valve 
on  auxiliary  reservoir  are  for  use  only  when  the  brake  on  any 
car  is  out  of  order  and  must  be  cut  out  of  service.  The  Eelease 
Valve  is  for  releasing  the  brake  on  that  car  in  such  case  by 
bleeding  the  auxiliary  reservoir. 

The  Pressure  Ketaining  Valve  is  connected  by  a  pipe  to  the 
exhaust  port  from  the  brake  cylinder.  It  is  left  wide  open  for 
free  escape  of  air  ordinarily,  but  is  turned  up  by  hand  before 
descending  long,  heavy  gTades,  so  as  to  retain  about  fifteen 
pounds  pressure  in  the  brake  cylinder,  and  thus  keep  the  braise 
slightly  applied  while  recharging  the  train. 

^538) 


APPENDIX  D. 


539 


ft,  3  N  u  «5 

c  ^  i:  -r  ^ 
s  »=5  -  -H  rt 


?:i  ^  J  -  5i 


<  =  u  ^  u  2 


/iUTOMATJC  Br  A  HE,  L0C0/V10r/V£  f:QU/PM£:NT. 


540 


APPENDIX  D. 


I  III'  II 

ill 


iirii 


i  "i^ 

1 1'  I'  ',1 

'  'iiii ''' 

t  |iit.-:^| 

•  !  V  '•' 

'  iiM.  ;ii 

'  'I'll  I' 


:  'y  ''\ 

I  i|io' 

I  'I'    i' 

!  11;  lil 

•  ll'M    Ul 

I  ll'llJIl 

:  1''';  ;;l 

<  ''  '  >i 

1  'i^i 
1 1 ,1, ,., 

I  |i  1  111 

■  lllji    Ml 

I  \''\k-"' 

I  i|lr.qi 

I  IT"!!! 


I     Ml,       ]l 

i'mII   il 


N'"^3 


7*^ 

;l  ! 


iir 


!i   • ; 


1. 


Ilii        ! 


1^==^--! 


ji     ii't--^^ 

.-J 

--\ 

Ij     ll'l~~-- 

— > 

1     II  J 

il>_ I 


ll>l 

i:iL 

II  r 


iii 


ii«Ll 
li^i 


ii;i — 


llX- 


L..il.J 


^.r*^ 

•^^ 


^ 


p 


6 

3 

a 

aoT3 

^ 

« 

^_» 

n1 

rd 

W 

u 

cn 

H 

o 

£ 

bj[ 

}»-, 

;^ 

n 

<u 

O 

W) 

dj 

O 

T— 1 
O 

2 

0} 

U 

)-i 

<B 

.2 

p^ 

O 

t-i 

r ) 

(U 

o 

nS 

<L) 

d 

hf 

p 

•rH 

<1 

> 

.— 1 

> 

(U 

U 

dJ 

Hi 

dJ 

Vh 

CO 

fi 

U( 

^'^ 

11 

o 

(U  to 

a 

v-l 

pq 

p^ 

"MtS 

s 

, 

o 

OJ 

S  rt, 

CI 

> 

<1  > 

Gq>Ci~| 

(U 

tn 

D 

CL(U    »^ 

n 

o^^d 

.tH 

o  a 

rt 

(ij 

a  o 

{H 

Oi 

gu 

^' 

2 

CJ    TO 

wura 

/il/TOM/ITIC  BfiAHE,  PaSSEA/C£R  C^/f  £QWPAt£Nf.. 


APPFxnrx  D. 


541 


C) 

t: 

l; 

^3 

.9 

'3 

(U 

*>! 

'3 

E 

CJ 

Pi 

_d 

'3 

OJ 

3 

Ui 

Ih 

C/3 

H 

tt 

(U 

be 

.2 

^' 

Ih 

'55 

u 

^" 

"y 

'o 

)-> 

> 

oJ 

^ 

u 

^ 

en 

eg 

CO 

(LI 

> 

6 

(U 

_rt 

a> 

o 

1— < 

T— 1 

u 

< 

o 

^ 

r^"^ 

Oh 

^ 

o 

6 

p4 

a 

oi 

E 

a 

ba 

a 

S 

.9 

"■3 

rt 

a 

I— 1 

Ih 

a; 

,0 

u 

O 

> 

t/3 

a 

S 

W) 

^ 

> 

^3 
c3 

I— 1 

o 

■M 

Cl^ 

o 

13 

1) 

3 

o 

O 

>  e^ 

U 

3 

cq 

o 

a; 

■*-> 

?? 

3 

'3 

S^ 

(u 

u 

Pi 

;^ 

ex, 

^' 

S" 

o 

-t-t 

c 

r*H 

a, 

ci 

I* 

0 

P4 

a, 

Pi 

^^ 

^ 

J 

N 

^ 

u 

3 

oJ 

s 

?-« 

> 

rt 

r-^ 

^" 

CO 
> 

Ai/TOM/iT/c  Brake,   Freight  C/jr  Fqcz/pme/^t. 


542 


APPENDIX  D. 


INDEX. 

This  volume  is  carefully  Indexed,  but  for  the 
convenience  of  the  reader  and  to  render  the  book 
easier  to  handle,  the  Index  is  included  (with  a 
full  Index  of  the  vhole  work)  in  volume  Twelve 
under  the  title  "GENERAL  INDEX."  This 
"GENERAL  INDEX"  is  also,  in  a  measure,  an 
Encjxlopedia  of  Railway  Knowledge. 


.MARSHALL  M.   KIRKMAN'S  WORKS. 


THE  SCIENCE  OF  RAILWAYS. 

A  Library  of  Reference  and  Instruction,  portraying  the  methods  and  prin- 
ciples tonnectt-d  with  the  organizaiiou,  locaiion,  capitalization,  construction, 
maintenance,  equipment,  motive  power,  operation  and  administration  of  rail- 
roads, profusely  illustrated  wiih  enj^ravings  of  railway  appliances  expressly 
prepared  for  the  work.  It  is  a  treasury  of  research  and  practical  experience 
portraying  truij;  and  vividly  the  practices  of  the  great  art  of  railway  trans- 
portation in  their  highest  and  best  forms. 

"A  work  having  the  unique  distinction  of  being  both  comprehensive  and  thorough. 
It  will  never  cease  to  be  of  great  value."'— Marvin  Hughitt,  President,  Chicago  & 
Northwestern  Railway. 

'•There  Is  nothing  in  railway  literature  to  be  compared  with  these  books  in  extent 
or  value." — Sir  William  C.  Van  Horne,  chairman  Board  of  Directors,  Canadian  Pacihc 
Railway. 

•"Of  great  value  to  railway  employes  and  to  investors  and  others  interested  in  rail- 
way properties.'" — \yilliaui  H.  Newman,  President,  New  York  Central  &  Hudson  River 
Railroad. 

"The  author  has  a  great  reputation.  His  books  are  especially  valuable  to  the  pro- 
fession."—Journal  of  the  German  Railway  Administration  Society. 

"Useful  to  all  who  desire  to  gaiu  some  insight  into  the  arcana  of  railway  manage- 
ment.'"—Herapath"8  Railway  Journal,  London. 

PRIMITIVE  CARRIERS. 

A  "unique  and  rare  v.ork  of  art,  in  portfolio  form,  embracing  fifteen  hundred 
beautiful  engravings  portraying  the  primitive  peoples  of  the  "world  and  their 
methods  of  carriage  in  every  age  and  quarter  of  the  globe. 

"A  more  interesting  series  of  Illustrations  It  would  be  diflicult  to  imagine,  or  one 
that  could  give  more  clear  and  positive  instruction  In  the  history  of  humanity." — 
Isew  Yurk  Sun. 

"A  work  of  great  merit  and  beauty."— Boston  Globe. 

"A  superb  volume,  original  in  coucepilon  and  unique  in  literature  and  art." — 
Chicago  Tribune. 

••The  value  of  this  vast  collection  Is  greatly  enhanced  by  the  explanations  and  the 
dates  that  are  ailixed  to  mosl  of  the  illustrations,  and  by  the  brief  historical  essays 
that  are  prefixed  to  the  several  subdivisions."— New  York  Daily  Tribune. 

THE  ROMANCE  OF  GILBERT  HOLMES. 

A  romance  of  the  Mississippi  Valley  in  the  early  days,  told  with  captivat- 
ing power.  The  critics  declared  it  ranked  with  the  best  of  its  kind.  Strong 
in  plot,  the  most  stirring  adventures  are  interwoven  with  a  love  story  which 
is  idyllic  and  full  of  charm. 

"Of  the  beauty  and  delicacy  of  the  author's  touch  there  can  be  no  question."— Chi- 
cago Tribune. 

•'The  book  is  delightful.  Full  of  quotable  things."'— The  Christian  "World  CEnglaud). 

"A  vivid  and  stirring  picture  of  adventure,  incident  and  romance  that  holds  the  in- 
terest of  the  reader  from  the  start.  A  pretty  love  story  runs  through  the  book,  told 
with  so  much  delicacy  and  tenderness  that  it  is  a  distinct  charm." — Baltimore  American. 

'•The  real  strength  of  the  book  lies  in  the  life-like  portraj-al  of  Abraham  Lincoln 
and  .Stephen  A.  Douglas,  as  well  as  Jefferson  Davis.  The  daring  venture  of  introduc- 
ing thi'se  men  in  a  romance  has  been  crowned  with  success." — The  Philadelphia  Press. 

•'A  striking  picture  of  a  romantic  period  of  American  history.  .  .  .  Pos.<esses  the 
primordial  attraction  of  a  really  idyllic  love  story  developed  with  a  delicate  charm 
which  stamps  the  writer  as  a  literary  artist."— The  Empire  (England). 

ISKANDER. 

A  romance  of  the  Court  of  Philip  of  Macedon  and  Alexander  the  Great.  Full 
to  the  brim  with  stiriing  achievements.  A  page  of  history  rewoven  with  the 
warp  and  woof  of  love  and  hate  and  intrigue  and  conflict. 

"A  highly  entrancing  romance.  Full  of  sound  historical  information  and  bristling 
with  exciting  incidents  of  war  and  ci^nquest.""— Aberdeen  Free  Press  (Scotland'. 

"A  delightful  love  story."— Philadelphia  Inquirer. 

publishers: 

THE  WORLD  RAILWAY  PUBLISHING  COMPANY, 

CHICAGO. 


UNIVERSrTY  OF  ILLINOS-URBANA 


3  0112  077402094 


